The Criminal and the Criminologist
by SlytherinDearie
Summary: When lead criminologist, Tess Sutterfield, is assigned to gather information on and bring Felonious Gru to justice, she learns that even police records can be misleading.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I really tried to keep Gru true to his character in the movie while still trying to keep him as a realistic villain. Also, I think I single-handedly destroyed the Russian language when it came to Gru's middle name. Russia uses patronymic middle names, which means the child's middle name is a derivative of the father's first name. Depending on the sex of the child, the ending of the middle name will either end with 'evich' or 'ovich' for a boy. 'ovna' or 'evna' for a girl. As for Tess, I see her Elizabeth Banks (specifically her appearance in Man on a Ledge) (cough Team Hayffie cough) far as appearance goes. As for Michael, think Justin Bartha.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Illumination Entertainment characters.

"We have a new case." The file was slid forward, to her grasp.

APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION, CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

Name: Felonious Robertevich Gru

Age: 51

D/O/B: September 28, 1960

Race: Caucasian

Height 6'4

Weight: 210 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Birthplace: Yekaterinburg, Russia

Accomplices: Eugene Russell Nefario (See file)

He has an army of genetically engineered creatures. The creatures are yellow; either have one or two eyes, three fingers, one to three feet tall. These creatures are capable of using weapons and speak a mixture of Russian, Spanish, English, French and gibberish. They are volatile but childish and irresponsible and fiercely loyal to Gru.

Gru has a large, criminally active family.

Weapons: Bombs of various strengths, plasma gun (see file) Freeze ray (see file), capable of weapon creation, (I.e. freeze ray, etc. ), self-made tank (used as primary mode of transportation) self-made plane capable of flying long distances in short periods of time, two self-made rockets (both decommissioned, one was built by Gru when he was eight year old) capable of space travel. A single knife and gun (Beretta 93R) (both usually used as a last resort)

Attacks and Skills: Variety of martial arts, weapons expert, pole vaulting, fencing, hand to hand combat, skilled in hard sciences and aviation.

Known Languages: Gru can speak Russian (by birth), English, and is capable of learning a new language if needed.

Notable Relatives: Natasha Romanoff (Blood; Distant)

Wanted for: Numerous accounts Manslaughter, murder, theft, burglary, arson, conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, destruction of commercial and private property.

Appearance: Bald, large nose, dresses in monotone colors.

Potential Victims: Three young orphaned girls being held hostage; Margo Paterson: 10 y.o., Edith Smith: 8 y.o., Agnes Whitlock 5 y.o.

Tess Sutterfield, lead criminologist for the Federal Bureau of Investigations stared at the file her partner, Michael Fisher, had slid to her. "No. We're not going near this guy; he's armed to the teeth. The man carries so many weapons on himself at one time; it puts Dale Gribble to shame. I told you, we'll need National Guard backup." Tess didn't bother to read the file; she just saw the name and knew it was foolish.

Fisher had always wanted to bring Gru to justice. She didn't know if it was endearing or annoying.

"We have evidence he has stolen three little girls and has them hostage," Fisher said in a serious tone. "He also has created something else, besides those yellow creatures, reconnaissance believes it's some kind of dog," He searched for the right word with a grimace, "thing."

"Where did he get the girls and why does he have them?"

"Your guess is good as mine."

Sutterfield was silent for a few moments, weighing her options. "Fine, but we're not bringing him in just yet. Our main objective is those girls' safety. We'll watch them for a few days, distinguish their routine and go from there. And I'm going with you."

Felonious Gru knew the second he stepped out on his doorstep he was being watched. Usually the fact didn't bother him; he had a legal team that made The Joker's look like a tea party gathering, which meant all of his encounters with the law only entailed a slap on the wrist. However, now he had his daughters to think about and he now feared the consequences his career came with. Gru couldn't think about this now, he didn't want to alarm the girls and had to get them to school.

When he returned home, he didn't hesitate to walk up to the black sedan with blacked out windows parked at the end of the street.

Tess rolled down the window as Gru walked up to the car with his hands behind his back and an annoyed expression. She was thankful she had on sunglasses to obscure her eyes. Eyes always gave away more than intended.

Gru recognized her. The tall, athletic, lean body, wavy blonde hair and calculating and intelligent hazel eyes, every time he saw her, she always carried herself with grace, excellent posture and head held high. He could see the outline of holster hidden under her black blazer and her FBI badge partially obscured by the blazer, clipped to her belt. She was Tess Sutterfield. He hacked into the police records long ago and knew every dirty secret (along was any weakness) about each officer there was to know. He recognized the boyish faced, rustled brown haired young man in the passenger seat, but not from the records. It must have been from somewhere else, which reminded Gru that he needed to update his police database.

Without any pretense or missing a beat, Gru said in a dark tone, matching his expression, "I know what you're doing. I defy you to try to take me away from my daughters and send them back to Miss Hattie when they finally thought their pain was over. I will put up a fight and there will be death and destruction. I can promise that."

Tess grinned, undeterred by him. He wasn't lying, no, but if one had been in the criminology game as long as Tess had, one quickly learns to not show the true emotions. Was Tess afraid of Gru? Not necessarily. Could he do everything he just promised? Absolutely.

"Guilty conscience? Who said we're watching you?" She asked cheekily.

"It is painfully obvious. You still have the police tags on your car." Gru drawled in boredom. Tess glared at Fisher. That was his responsibility. She turned back to Gru.

"So you admit you are a criminal?" Tess countered with a raised eyebrow.

"I think what I do is a form of protest." Without another word, Gru turned on his heel and vanished into his house.

"So the girls are his adoptive daughters, or so he says." Tess thought aloud. She turned to Fisher, "Get directions to that orphanage he talked about. We need to know the information he used to procure those girls, like an alias" Fisher obediently typed away on the laptop on the console and punched the directions in the GPS.


	2. Chapter 2

"We have information that you let this man adopt these three girls." Tess said, handing a plain folder only containing pictures of Gru and his daughters to a large woman with over hairsprayed hair.

"If you cooperate, you will not be held liable for this incident." Fisher added.

Hattie Smith of Miss Hattie's Home for Girls sighed and looked at the file. Thankfully, no reading was involved. She hated that. "Yes, I allowed him to adopt those girls. He claimed he was a dentist who spoke Spanish and claimed I was beautiful." She muttered that last part under her breath.

"What was that?" Michael asked, recording her words on a notepad.

"So what do you need from me? My entire computer, blood sample, my first born son?" She asked sarcastically. She was missing her mani pedi for this?!

Tess took out a blank flash drive her coat pocket. "Just put his file on this. We'll be back if we need anything else."

Hattie huffed in annoyance, as though they were asking a great deed of her. Moments later, they had the flash drive with Gru's alias and information and left.

"Remind me to tell the chief that a social worker needs to make regular unannounced visits to that place. I highly doubt she is in compliance with several ethics laws…" Tess stated, getting back in the black sedan.

* * *

"He didn't even use an alias and used his real address. Either we're giving this guy too much credit or he's not worried about us." Chief Robert Daniels said looking over the information Tess and Michael procured.

"Well look at his car and house! He's obviously not concerned with hiding! The guy is a cocky jackass who thinks he can do what he wants! He's never even served time!" Michael exclaimed angrily.

"He's lawyer'd up. He has mob lawyers, so don't give him any credit for not serving time." Tess replied evenly. Tess wondered why Michael was so involved and emotionally invested in this case. She just chalked it up to him being a rookie and probably had people he wanted to impress.

"Keep your emotions in check, Fisher. This guy, or any other perp you'll see in this job, isn't worth a busted vein in your neck." The chief reprimanded. He turned to Tess, "Have you figured out his routine yet?"

"No sir. He knew we were watching him and he made it clear he'd put up a fight if we tried to take the girls way."

Daniels clicked and typed at his computer for several moments, "It says here those girls are enrolled in the Coalwood Private Schools system. He's listed as their father. Apparently it's the school system he attended too."

"My nephew goes to those schools. They're very expensive. Why would he waste his money sending them each to a private school, or on sending them to school period?" Tess thought aloud.

"Probably keep them from driving him crazy during the day." Michael said in a disgusted tone of voice.

"You say he's already aware you were watching him?" Daniels asked, thinking.

"Yes sir." They confirmed.

Daniels was silent, in thought, for a few moments. "Lay off him for a few days. Lull him into a false sense of security, and then resume your surveillance."

The meeting with her superior reminded Tess that she had to pick up her nephew at his school. Her brother and sister-in-law would be working late and thus were unable to pick him up themselves. Her nephew was a nine year old named Percy and was in the highest grade at the school. He was a shy boy, favoring books to playing with other kids his age. A few years prior, he was pulled out of public school because he was mercilessly teased due to his tall stature and glasses. Thankfully, changing schools seemed to do the trick, but poor Percy still had few friends. Tuition was expensive however and many times, Tess and her parents contributed their own money when her brothers and sister in laws had come up short. It didn't bother any of them at all, so long as Percy was happy.

As Tess waited for him, leaning against her car with her sunglasses on, she saw a very familiar face. Gru was there in his tank of a vehicle a few cars over. All the other cars surrounding him had been crushed. Tess made a mental note to add another count of destruction of private property to his file.

"Nice to see you again, stranger." Tess called sarcastically, grinning.

"Following me to my daughter's school is a gross misuse of your authority, Ms. Sutterfield." Gru replied warningly.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm just here to pick up my nephew." She replied, crossing her arms.

The school bell rang, ceasing any more conversation. Kids immediately flooded out of the doors as though they had been in tiny cages all day. Percy, his face buried in a book that his peers wouldn't read until college, wasn't paying attention to where he was going and accidentally knocked a bigger kid off balance. The bigger kid yelled at Percy and held up his fist.

"Don't you dare you little punk." Tess said under her breath, starting to run for her nephew. Before she got there, a little blonde haired girl, dressed entirely in shades of pink with a matching beanie stood up to the bigger kid. Tess quickly realized that she was one of the orphans Gru adopted named Edith Smith.

Tess grabbed Percy away just as Edith and the bigger kid started fighting. By then, Gru was there before Edith could do much damage to the bigger kid. Edith, still wanting to fight, was thrown over Gru's shoulder.

For a split second, Tess and Gru caught each other's eye contact, before they ushered their kids away. The eye contact caused a flutter in Tess' heart and something told her that something significant just happened. Tess shook her head, derailing that train of thought.

At the end of the week, Tess was recruited by her brother to take his place at Percy's field trip as a chaperon to the natural history museum. She was thankful for her small reprieve from work; the day after the mishap at Percy' school, she was handed a case that made Jeffrey Dahmer look innocuous. One would think there was only so much one could do with a severed human head…

She should have known Gru would be there. Tess couldn't tell if he had no choice to be the second chaperon or volunteered to keep an eye on Edith out of protectiveness. That man was a total mystery.

"I'm getting very sick of seeing you," Gru said coldly as she and Percy arrived in the school gym where everyone who was going on the field trip was instructed to wait for the bus.

"It's not any better for me. A big nose only looks good on Alan Rickman." Tess retorted. Percy had run off and was talking to Edith. "Looks like we have a blossoming romance." She added smartly.

She wasn't concerned with Percy being friends with Edith. Gru, however, she could tell was less than thrilled.

"The bus is here!" A young teacher called, getting everyone's attention, standing in front of the open gym doors. "Line up in front of me if you are taking the bus! Line up in front of Mrs. Murphy," She gestured to a woman on the opposite end of the gym, in front of another set of open doors, "if you plan on driving your student yourself."

Tess took Percy's hand and moved to the line for the buses.

"Dad! Can we ride the bus!? Percy wasn't done telling me about this super awesome comic book!" Edith asked eagerly, pulling on the hem of his coat.

Edith called him dad. He called her his daughter. It was beginning to click in Tess' mind. Maybe he wasn't using them and truly saw the girls as his own. That didn't get him off the hook. She suppressed the feeling of guilt, knowing she would one of the reasons those girls wound up at Miss Hattie's. That being said, she had been surprised before in her career. For all she knew, the little girl could have Stockholm Syndrome and he was just playing daddy in public.

"No." Gru replied, snapping Tess out of her thoughts.

"Aww c'mon!" Edith exclaimed dramatically.

"C'mon _Dad_. Don't be stingy." Tess added condescendingly, wanting nothing more than seeing a man like Felonious Gru out of his element, on a three hour bus ride with thirty yelling kids.

With a great huff, Gru moved into the line with Tess. "You're going to bed early tonight." He grumbled to his daughter.

The entire ride, Tess resisted the urge to take full advantage of the fact that she was sitting behind Gru and the urge to revert back to a child and be that kid everyone hates sitting in front of. She almost wished she had spit wad tube to spit at the back of his giant head. Alas, she did have dignity and self-control and reframed from such behavior.

Percy and Edith chatted most of the way while Gru shut down, closing his eyes, crossing his arms and not moving. Tess didn't blame him, the kids where more rowdy than usual.

Just as a decent migraine was setting in for Tess, they arrived at the museum. Everyone filled in and the tour started. Thankfully, not very many people were there.

"Hello everyone!" An older woman with the museum called out happily. "My name is Margaret Anderson and I'm a docent with the Fort Collins Museum of Natural History. First, before we get started, I want to introduce you to our live mascot, Loki." The docent lead the group down a hall away just off the museum entrance.

Loki was an old Russell's Viper snake that was used in many of the museums advertisements. He was animated wore clothes and a single, fluffy slipper, like an old grandfather. Many of those advertisements were aimed at children to get them interested in the museum. While his cartoon self was lively and happy, the real Loki just sat there, asleep. Tess didn't know much about snakes, but she knew a snake like Loki was one of the most poisonous kinds. It made her wonder just why the museum would take such a risk having the creature.

After the docent finished talking about how they acquired Loki and facts about his species, the children were allowed to take a closer look at the old snake.

All the boys rushed up the terrarium and Edith was the only girl amongst them. The rest of the little girls in the group were too frightened of the snake.

"Dad! Can we get a snake like this?!" Edith asked eagerly.

"No. Kyle is enough trouble as it is." Gru replied, then he quieted, in thought, "Maybe for your birthday." He repealed.

"Yes!" Edith shouted in victory.

Suddenly, Edith was the center of attention amongst her classmates, knowing that one day she'd have a pet snake like Loki. Edith drank in the praise. She was a girl and was not afraid of snakes! Tess took this as a time to yell at Gru without upsetting Edith.

"You? Adopt a _viper_? With the record you have? Ha! You couldn't even buy a water pistol without alarms going off." Tess said, skeptically and sarcastically.

"Which is precisely why I manufacture my own weapons." He replied, evenly. Tess hated the way he spoke to her, always evenly with no other emotion. She knew he thought that her and everyone else were below him. All she wanted to do was kick him. Or slap him. Or punch him. Really, any act of maiming would suffice.

"You're really not concerned with going to prison, are you?" She asked, disgust lacing her voice.

"Not in the least bit." He replied.

"Come along, children! It's time to move on!" The docent said as everyone followed her.

Everything went smoothly until Tess noticed Percy was being awfully quiet. He would usually buzz with excitement at being in a museum and point out to his aunt facts and information the docent missed. She looked down at her side to make she he was feeling ok, but she quickly realized he wasn't there.

In alarm, she whipped around, thinking that maybe he wasn't done looking at the last exhibit, but he wasn't there either. Then she noticed Edith was gone too.

"Where are Percy and Edith?" Tess asked worriedly, looking around for her nephew and his friend.

"The location of the first one is none of my concern. Edith is right h-here…" Gru's voice dropped off when he looked down at his side and saw that the little girl was not there.

He said something in Russian which Tess knew was swearing. "They're probably still at the stupid snake." He said, grabbing Tess by the arm and hauling her off down the winding hallways.

They both took off running and skidded to a halt when they saw the scene in front of them. The giant snake was free of its terrarium and slithering up to the two kids, huddled in a corner. A decent sized hole was cracked into the glass, which allowed the old snake to get free.

Gru never hesitated. He took a decent sized gun out of a holster under his jacket. He took a split second at line it up and aimed it at the snake. If Tess could have thought straight at the moment, she would be slightly worried about how adept he was with a weapon. He shot and the snake froze.

"What did you do?!" Tess exclaimed, thinking he killed the snake.

"It is merely paralyzed." He replied, walking up to the terrarium and took an ordinary looking pen and clicked it. From the pen, laser shot out of the tip and he cut away more of the glass. Taking the old snake, he placed it back in its terrarium.

"The effects will last long enough for someone with the museum to notice the damage." Gru explained. "Now," He said sternly, turning to his daughter. "How did this happen?"

"I tried to wake up the snake, but it wouldn't. So I tried to kick the glass so he could hear us. Then the glass broke." Edith answered, avoiding eye contact with her father.

"How on earth could a little girl break through that glass?" Tess asked aloud.

"Hey! Are you calling me weak?!" Edith asked indignantly.

Gru bent down and examined the shards of glass, "It's obviously an inferior composite. This type of glass was never meant to hold such a volatile creature."

Tess' eyes strayed up to the ceiling and saw a security camera was trained on them. "They'll know it was our kids who did it!" Tess exclaimed in frustration, thinking about how she would pay for this. She knew Gru wouldn't pony up his half for the repairs!

Gru took the laser pen and pointed it at the camera and instantly melted it, reducing it to drip trails on the wall. "Not anymore." He replied.

Percy ran up to his aunt, throwing his arms around her, burrowing his face in her side.

"You saved my nephew," She said in awe and disbelief, looking to Gru.

"He was in the way," Gru said offhandedly as though he didn't want to admit he saved Percy as well. He scooped up Edith and started to leave the museum.

"That makes no sense!" Tess yelled.

Author's note: Please take a moment to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Tess officially believed that those girls were safe Gru, or as safe as they could be. His 'career' could easily put them in danger. She was still battling on whether or not they should remain in his custody. Needless to say, the count of kidnapping and neglect needed to be struck from his record.

'It'll save the taxpayers' money,' Tess told herself, but she had no idea how she'd explain that to Chief Daniels, but she had no choice.

If one studies criminals long enough, one can just as easily study civilians, a habit Tess developed…and used it to get what she wanted. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks while on the way to Daniel's office. When did she _want_ to improve Gru's record? _Why_ did she want to? Tess shook her head, she was stressed from her wannabe Dahmer case, she still in shock from her encounter with that giant snake, Mars was in retrograde, she was having an allergic reaction to her mascara. She threw any excuse at it that she could think of.

Getting back on track, Tess knew this would be the optimum time to tell Daniel's of her decision. It was after lunch, nearing the end of the work day and Daniel's had the next day off. All in all, he should be on cloud nine right about then. A happy Daniels meant that he was less likely to laugh in her face at her decision and demote her.

"Ah, Tess, just the woman I've been looking for!" He called merrily, "Sit down; I have a question for you."

Tess took the seat in front of Daniel's desk, "What is it?" she asked curiously.

"The Cody David case, you know the one who took the severed head of his ex-girlfriend to league night at the bowling alley and ate the rest of her? Well, apparently he's developed a taste for flesh and is asking for it in lieu of his real meals over in county. Obviously, we cannot give him real human flesh, so what do you suppose we do?"

Tess shrugged, "Give him some rawhide or pigs ears, the kind you give a dog." She replied simply.

Daniels face screwed up, "Is that safe?"

"Well, my brother chewed on them until he was ten and he turned out fine."

Daniels guffawed, "Will he notice the difference?" he asked once he regained his composure.

"He took a severed head into public. I didn't need his IQ test to realize he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. No, he will not notice." Tess answered.

"Ah. Good. Anyway, did you need something?"

Tess was a bit nervous and her heart picked up a quicker pace, "Uh, yes," She replied and took a breath, "I had the _unfortunate_ opportunity to spend some time with Felonious Gru last week. The school one of his daughters and my nephew both attend had a field trip and they've both became friends. Gru and I ended up being the chaperons. While on the trip, he saved the lives of his daughter, my nephew and me. Because of this turn of events, I know longer believe those girls are in any immediate danger by being in his custody and the count of kidnapping and neglect should be removed from his record." Tess said firmly.

Daniels sat there for a few moments, processing the information. "His daughter?"

Tess nodded, "He used the term himself. His body language gave no clues of deceit."

"I know nothing about criminals, other than apprehending them, that's what I have you for. If you believe the count is superfluous, then it needs to be removed and you have my approval." Daniels answered.

Tess smiled, "Thank you sir. That being said, I believe he is planning something. Readings from his home show high levels of explosive materials. It's like he's planning an arms race. I have no idea if those girls are protected from the weapons he manufactures. I believe we drop the count of child abuse down to child endangerment. While I believe he will not be the direct cause of harm to them, I do not believe they are truly safe."

"Let it be so. I want you following him like his shadow. Your nephew and his kid are friends, you do the math."

Tess nodded, "Yes sir."

Tess could easily be considered the great sister in the world that day. Using the funds she was given for her investigation of Felonious Gru and approval from Daniels, she sent her brother and his wife on a two week long vacation, leaving for the airport that night, thus leaving Tess as Percy's caretaker and wherever Percy was, more often than not, Edith was. Where Edith was Gru was. She could investigate Gru under the guise of being Percy's caretaker. The funds for the investigation would otherwise have just sat there, as a complicated case as it was, it wasn't _that_ complicated.

When she went to pick up Percy from school, Gru was already there with a new crop of destroyed cars in his wake.

Putting on her sunglasses to hide her eyes, she walked up to the tank he called a car. "I feel I must tell you this, while you are still under investigation, I have removed suspicion of child neglect from your file."

For a split second, Gru looked genuinely relieved, but then steeled himself. "Good." He replied evenly.

The bell suddenly rang and kids flooded out. Percy and Edith were together.

"I want to make a rocket! My dad did when he was my age!" Edith exclaimed happily.

"No he didn't. I say we make a working volcano." Percy argued.

Tess could see it took everything Gru had not to correct Percy, that he _did_ build a working rocket at Edith's age. Tess barely believed it herself when she read it in Gru's file.

"What are you two talking about?" Tess asked as Percy walked up to her, carrying a new book.

"We're partners in the science fair." Percy replied. "Our homework is to have an idea for our project and how we'll do it."

"Looks like we're stuck together again," Tess teased Gru. He groaned, slumping against the driver's seat. "Your place or mine?" She asked, smiling sarcastically.

"Yours." He said tersely, as Edith climbed into the tank and he turned the ignition.

Gru followed Tess to her house. It was mid-sized with an extra bedroom that Percy stayed in when he slept over. Tess spent several thousand dollars upgrading the security. It's easy to get paranoid when one has a job like hers.

"You said you wanted to make a volcano, Perce?" Tess asked as they all gathered around the dining room table. Rather than sit like everyone else, Gru remained standing, his arms crossed around the wide expanse of his chest.

"It's over done. There will be dozens of those." Gru said, bored.

"Well how about you enlighten us?" Tess snapped.

Gru turned to Edith who was on her second juice box, "You wanted to make a rocket, Edith?" Gru asked.

"Yeah!" She eagerly exclaimed.

"We're making a rocket." Gru stated, turning back to Tess.

She was silent, trying to puzzle out where she'd actually put the rocket…

"It won't be like the rocket I build when I was your age, Edith, but it will launch and fly." Gru told his daughter.

She visibly saddened learning they wouldn't make a big rocket, but still seemed excited about the project.

"I still don't know how we're going to do this." Tess said.

"It's actually quite simple. The kids could do it with little trouble. With supervision, of course. I have the parts they need. All they need is a cylindrical body, three fins, a nose cone, fuel and a parachute. The fins can be made from balsa wood and the body from a hollowed out wooden dowel rod." Gru explained as Percy and Edith took notes.

Gru's cell phone rang, cutting him off. "Hello, what is it Margo?" He answered.

Tess knew something was up by the expression on Gru's face and the way the girl sounded on the other end. "I'll be right there. I love you, Margo." He said, hanging up.

"We're leaving, Edith." He said.

"What's wrong?" Edith and Tess asked.

Gru was silent, debating on whether to tell Tess. "Agnes' birth mother is on my doorstep. She wants to see her."

"Does she have visitation rights?" Tess asked.

"No." Gru answered.

"She has no right to just show up."

"She wants to take Agnes back." Gru said, angrily, both at the situation and Tess for prying.

"I need to come with you then. It's best that another woman is there."

"Fine. Whatever." Gru waved her off, not wanting to argue.

The entire way there, Tess had trouble keeping up with Gru. He was speeding (faster than usual) and it was obvious he was eager to get home.

When they arrived, Margo, Agnes and her birth mother were standing on the doorstep, with the front door open. Tess could hear the vicious bark of what she thought was a large dog.

"Stay in the car, Perce." She said quickly, following Gru to the front door.

"Go sit with Percy." Both Tess and Gru said in unison to Edith. Thankfully, she obeyed.

Agnes was wrapped around Margo with her face buried in Margo's jacket. Agnes' birth mother was the spitting image of her daughter, with long black hair and brown eyes. She looked heartbroken that her daughter was acting in such a way. Her mother was but a child herself, probably not even out of college. She had a ways to go before she was emotionally and financially ready to care for a child.

"Daddy!" Agnes cried, jumping off of Agnes and to her father. Gru wrapped her in a protective embrace.

"You have no right to be here, _child_." Gru said darkly, "You gave up your rights to her."

"I know and I was so wrong to do it!" She pleaded. "I just want to have her back." Agnes buried herself deeper into her father's embrace at her birth mother's words.

"That's not happening." Gru replied angrily.

Tess moved to stand in front of the girl, putting her hands on her shoulders. She looked down, sobbing. Tess coaxed her chin up with hand looking into the younger woman's eyes, "What's your name, sweetie?" She asked gently.

"C-Cassie Whitlock."

"Cassie, I know you think you are, but you are not ready to care for a child. This man has given her a great home and he has the resources to care for her that you don't yet have."

Cassie gently shrugged to get Tess' hands off of her. "I can't." She sobbed.

"Can't what?" Tess asked.

"I-I can't," Cassie suddenly began to wheeze, she was so emotional. Gru sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Tess shot him a nasty look for that.

"Breath Cassie," Tess soothed, rubbing her back.

"I can't let him have her." She said, shaking her head, once she calmed down enough. "I know who he is! He's evil!" Cassie seethed, tears still flowing down her cheeks. "One of my friends was killed by an explosion he started!"

This new information should have bothered Tess, but it didn't. She knew Gru's file backwards and forwards. She started to worry if she had been working with criminals a little too long for that to have no effect on her.

As soon as Agnes heard Cassie's words, she began to wail. "I don't wanna go! Don't make me leave again Daddy!"

"You're not going anywhere, Agnes," Both Tess and Gru said.

"I'm sorry. But I have to have her back." Cassie said, sadly. Taking this as a queue to leave, she turned and left for her car.

"I have some connections we can use, but first, I need to know if these girls are truly safe here, especially since you manufacture your own weapons." Tess said firmly.

"My home was safe before them and now safer with them." Gru replied.

"Then I'll make sure Agnes never leaves."

Author's note: Do not try the rocket building based on my instructions. I did build a rocket that launched and flew in 8th grade but I do not remember how I did it. Please take a moment to review!


	4. Chapter 4

"You dropped his count of child neglect and kidnapping from his file?!" Fisher exclaimed angrily, slamming his fists on Tess' desk.

While a little startled by this sudden aggression, Tess knew Fisher was quite harmless; to her at least. Fisher was always a little on the gung-ho side. His first day on the job, he was reprimanded and put on desk duty for a month after he roughed up a suspect when he couldn't get the information he wanted. Despite being on the force for several years, he was still, essentially, an assistant to Tess; a permanent rookie because of his behavior. Whenever he went out on his own, trouble came soon after. Everyone thought that he just watched too much cop shows on TV. Also, before Tess came along, his own father was considered the top investigator. She knew that Fisher was gunning for her spot though.

Fisher's father was idolized by everyone Tess worked with. He was a good man, the salt of the earth, was fair in all his doings and had a strong no violence approach to his suspects. Because of him, the country was the safest it had ever been and the police could bring in every criminal that came across Anthony Fisher's desk; except one, Felonious Gru.

Pushing his hands off her desk, she said calmly, "Yes I did and the Chief approved it."

"On what evidence do you base this on?!" He asked in annoyance as he paced her office.

"He saved the lives of his middle child, my nephew and me without hesitation. I'm even considering dropping his count child endangerment too."

Tess was still grappling with why she was doing all of this. She was ready to admit she didn't hate him but not that she liked him, other than liking to fight and argue with him. Why she suddenly trusted his word was whole different problem she had yet to puzzle out and put a rational spin on.

"Why the hell would you do that!?" Fisher questioned.

Tess sighed and shook her head, "I don't know."

Then she remembered the home inspection report on Hattie Smith's files. It had checked out clean. There were no notes of weapons, dangerous chemicals or anything hazardous lying around. By the inspectors report, it was a normal home. Tess was beginning to wonder if Gru had a secret underground lab he ran to, but he probably didn't. It was a ridiculous notion.

"His home inspection report checked out, remember?" She added in their defense.

"He probably hid everything before-hand." Fisher disputed.

"You know home inspections after adoptions are at random. Sometime in the first three to four months after the adoption, a home inspector will show up and the new parents only have a phone call ten minutes before the inspector shows up. That's nowhere near enough time to prep a house of that size."

Fisher was silent for a moment, thinking of his next move. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and pointed at Tess, "The report said he wasn't there until the tail-end of the inspection."

"His oldest is ten years old. Tell me, when did _you_become a latch-key kid?" Tess said, knowingly. Fisher himself had been a latch-key kid at ten. He was silent. "The rest of the report states the inspector interviewed their teachers. They all said that the girls have never missed school or had been late. They are always happy and eager to learn. It even said that Margo, the oldest, is mature and wise beyond her years. For all we know, Gru had run out to get milk before the inspector showed up. Compared to the reports their old schools sent over, their grades have improved, they are early to class, rather than late, and their entire demeanor has changed since Felonious Gru adopted them."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Fisher said, irritated, leaving her office and slamming her door.

For the rest of the day, Tess spent her time contacting her connections to keep Agnes with Gru. From the information she received, Cassie Whitlock had already filed an appeal for Agnes' custody. Despite the fact Gru was a known criminal; they had a pretty airtight case, simply based on the fact that Cassie Whitlock gave up her rights to Agnes and just how young she was. The fact that she didn't have a job and still lived on campus at school certainly did not help her case, either. She simply did not have the resources or funds to care for Agnes like Gru did.

While Gru did have several counts of manslaughter and murder under his belt, his influence had improved not just Agnes' but all three of the girls lives. Also, the innocuous home inspection report and the dropped counts of kidnapping, child neglect and the more than likely dropped count of child endangerment certainly helped to prove that he would never hurt the girls. Those coupled with his team of lawyers and the fact that he was more on his feet than Cassie Whitlock was, meant for a favorable outcome for Gru. Tess was quite confident that Agnes would never leave Gru's side until it was time for college.

That night, Edith and Percy were supposed to have their rocket ready and were going to assemble it at her house. It was still a few days before the fair, but Gru thought it would be the best to time to test it and build another, if needed. As she walked up to the tank, she could tell Gru was in a foul mood, fouler than usual.

"You sent your little lackey to Agnes' school today to talk to her, didn't you?" Gru accused, barely controlled anger lacing his voice.

"What you are talking about?" Tess asked, confused.

"Agnes came to me in tears after I picked her up from school today; telling me a man that fit Fisher's description asked her if I ever hurt her or her sisters. He took her off of school grounds during her recess to do so." Gru said, furiously.

Tess was stunned. Fisher had actually broken the law. It was illegal to bring a child into an investigation without authorization from her and Daniels, not to mention luring a child of her school campus and questioning her alone. This was a serious problem and Fisher more than likely lose his job over this.

"I did not authorize that. Fisher must have taken it upon himself. He's always been rather over-zealous. It is quite possible he'll lose his job over this." Tess answered.

"He could lose more." Gru threatened as Edith and Percy walked up to them. "Come on Edith, we aren't going to Sutterfield's tonight."

Tess slowly walked back to her car where Percy was waiting. She actually felt hurt, knowing that Gru thought she warranted this.

"We have to make a pit stop to my work, Perce." She explained as they got into her car.

A majority of the investigators had already gone home for the day by the time Tess arrived. Only a few people where spotted across the large, open space of cubicles.

"Go wait in my office, Percy." Tess said, pointing to her office door on the far wall.

He nodded and quickly obeyed. Tess wound her way through the cubicle maze until she came to Fishers. He was sitting with his back towards her. Angrily, she grabbed the back of his chair and spun him around to face her.

"You went to Agnes' school!?" Tess exclaimed, grabbing on to the lapels of Fisher's jacket. "He threatened to kill you! I almost hope he does! What were you thinking!? You could have traumatized her for life! How do you think that makes the force look!? Like a bunch of pedophiles!?"

"I needed to know if he was hurting them!" He countered, throwing his hands up in self-defense as Tess began pacing the length outside his cubicle.

"You can't do that without authorization from me and Daniels." She yelled, "And there's something else you need first, a thing called 'evidence'!" She added sarcastically. The irony of their previous argument was not lost on Tess or Fisher.

She calmed herself, "I'm recommending to the Chief that he removes you from the force."

"You're what!?" He exclaimed, standing up.

"This incident, along with a large list of others, is posing some serious problems for you. This type of environment is just not right for you." Tess explained.

Fisher was stunned into silence and Tess took this as a chance to leave.

The next day, she was prepared to talk to Daniels about dropping Gru's count of child endangerment and to have Fisher removed.

"Why didn't his home inspection report come up with the rest of his file?" Daniels asked.

"Our two agencies simply do not communicate." Tess answered.

"Ah. How annoying." Daniels said, casually. "Now you say you think it'd be best for Fisher to be removed?"

"Yes. His behavior is simply unbecoming and only sheds a bad light on us all." Tess replied.

"Yeah, I read the report about him going to that little girl's school without authorization." Daniels drawled. "I agree whole heartedly. I was just waiting on someone else to speak up. The only problem is that Fisher resigned from his position early this morning. I tried to contact him, but he never answered. I tried calling his apartment complex, low and behold, he moved out. Michael Fisher is gone."

Tess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. That sounded like him, overly dramatic and wanted to have the last word. He was either starting his life over somewhere else, or ending it on the city bridge.

Feeling guilty over this entire ordeal with Fisher, Tess dropped Percy off at another friends' house, intending to go apologize to Gru. She arrived at his home, knowing she was probably overstepping her boundaries and doing something not much different from what Fisher himself did.

She unconsciously checked her appearance before she went up to the doorstep. She knocked on the door. After several seconds, she heard two high pitched voices, speaking gibberish. It sounded like an argument and she heard one hit the other. Then the door opened, revealing nothing but the entryway.

Confused, Tess looked around.

" 'Allo!" A high pitched voice greeted, happily. Two little yellow creatures with large eyes peaked out from behind the door, one holding the door knob and the other holding the first one up.

Tess' took several ragged breaths before she screamed in fright. It wasn't that they were scary to look at and Tess knew that Gru had created his own race of creatures, but seeing something inhuman and like no known animal; one can't help but be frightened. One of the little creatures started to bawl loudly at Tess' reaction to him. The other laughed at the crying one, obviously not realizing how similar he looked to the crying one, thinking only his appearance scared Tess.

Gru bounded around the corner; cursing in a language that Tess did not understand.

"Uh oh, I recognize some of those words," Edith said in alarm, from one of the steps on the staircase.

Gru grabbed the screaming Tess and pulled her inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What are you doing here!?" Gru yelled.

"I-I-I came to apologize on behalf of Michael Fisher. He resigned early this morning. I am the only one on your case and have dropped all counts of child abuse from your file." Tess said quickly, all her words and sentences running together, still stunned from her encounter with the yellow beings. "Now tell me what the hell those things are!" She exclaimed, her stare frozen and her expression still of stun.

Gru sighed. "They are my minions."

"Are they also your au pairs?!" Tess exclaimed, yelling in his direction.

"James, Jack!" Gru barked to the yellow creatures, "Go make sure the girls are getting ready for bed. Tell them I will be up for story time and good night kisses shortly."

"Okay!" The creatures replied, cheerfully and scurried up the stairs with Edith, one tripping over its own feet.

Suddenly, Tess heard the barking and growling of a large dog. What came around the corner was a small, black wiry haired creature with an under bite full of sharp teeth, large, round eyes and two furry antennas. Tess screamed again, this time in real fear. This was the _other_ creature Gru created. Out of fear for her life, she latched onto Gru.

She felt Gru grab something from a table behind them.

"Go get your bone, Kyle!" He said with a hint of fear in his voice, throwing a bone meant for a larger dog; or a dog, period.

"You _named_ it!?" Tess screeched.

"Of course I did! He's my…" Gru's voice faltered and he sighed, thinking of the right word to describe the creature, "dog."

Tess moved away from Gru and examined the entryway. Just inside was a mace propped up against a bookcase, another that seemed to double as a decorative chandelier, an assortment of swords on table and a heavily armed suit of armor with a spear and yet another mace. A bear trap was sitting casually on the floor as though it was simply a pair of shoes.

"This place isn't safe for children! How in the world did this place pass the home inspection!? You lied! You're the biggest asshole I have ever met!" Tess screeched again.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Gru shrugged.

"J-just shut up! Your voice is driving me up the wall! Drop that infuriating accent!" Tess exclaimed, knowing that Gru could not help his accent, but it felt good to yell about it. She kicked him in the shin out of frustration.

"I have intelligent daughters. They knew what they had to do." He answered, holding his shin. "I can assure you, they are safe here."

Tess huffed in response, "Like I said, I came to apologize on behalf of Michael Fisher, he essentially disappeared this morning." Then Tess put two and two together. "Did you kill him!?"

Gru looked insulted, "I wouldn't waste my time on such a simpleton."

Tess didn't know she believed him or not, but she continued on, she wasn't concerned about Fisher, "I have dropped all counts of child abuse from your file. Although you are still under investigation for the rest of your crimes," Gru looked proud at the word 'crimes', "I assume you have contacted your lawyers about Agnes' birth mother?"

"I have." Gru replied.

"I have been in touch with my own contacts and they assure me you have the upper hand. Tomorrow, social workers will visit with Cassie, to interview her and base her ability to care for Agnes and inspect wherever she intends to raise Agnes. She lives on school campus, in a shared dorm room. If she tries to take the inspector into the resident hall, she'll fail right there. Even if she intends to keep Agnes at her parents' home, three hours away from here, she will still fail. Agnes will need to be in her actual custody, not her parents, to regain her rights. The social workers will take a few weeks to go over their notes and a court date will be set. Unfortunately, you'll have to live with this well into next month." Tess explained.

"I understand. I, uh, appreciate what you are doing for us." Gru actually looked pained to say that.

Tess smiled, "I would be letting Agnes down if she went to anyone else but you." With that she turned and walked back to her car.

As she drove, she remembered what he told his 'minions' to do. He, Felonious Gru, the man who had the entire city and the world afraid of him, the man who was on America's most wanted list (he was towards the bottom, but he was still on there) read three little girls bedtime stories and kissed them good night? Tess' heart melted. Ok, she did like him.

Then she had another realization, a more sickening, cold sweated one. She just promised the man, the man that was her career's goal was to put in jail, that he'd get to keep Agnes and the rest of his daughters.

Tess Sutterfield, was, officially, stuck.

Author's note: Three guesses where the minion's names come from. Why not review while you're at it?


	5. Chapter 5

Tess saw Gru again that following Monday. The science fair was that Friday and a test launch was scheduled for Monday evening. At work, she had been given an update for the readings from a team of investigators that worked under her lead. The readings would indicate levels of explosive materials and other materials used to make weapons. The last time, they were incredibly high. This time, however, they had significantly decreased.

'Now that's strange.' Tess thought.

No one had heard from Fisher. As much as she hated to admit it, she had checked with the police that afternoon to see if his body had turned up anywhere. It hadn't and there was no other sign that Fisher was dead either. Tess took this as a small blessing, even though she wasn't a religious woman.

Truth be told, she was looking forward for the test launch that evening for two reasons; she wanted to see if the rocket Percy and Edith had worked on would actually fly (not that she didn't have faith in them) and if she were painfully honest with herself, she wanted to see Gru.

She had only just reconciled the fact that she did like him. It wasn't love. What he felt towards her, well that was a total mystery. She knew he didn't feel the same way. She told herself it was just an innocent little crush that would dissipate once this case was closed. She knew that nothing would come of it in the end.

The thought of closing this case brought her dilemma back to the forefront of her mind. It meant that she had put Gru behind bars and those girls back in to Miss Hattie's custody. That and, she had exactly fourteen more days until her brother and sister-in-law would be back.

As a criminologist, it was her duty to study her target to establish a routine of said target, estimate his or her next crime and to keep the police as safe as possible along with any potential victims when the target was brought in. Her case, for the most part, had fallen apart. All the counts of child abuse were removed from his file, but she knew he was doing something. Those old readings told her he was militarizing, but now, they had dropped off. The police could bring him that day if Tess made the call; she had enough evidence for them. She knew where he would be. What stopped her from doing it up until now were the safety of the police and the location of where Gru's daughters were. She didn't want them to see their father being arrested. Now, the whole 'feelings for Gru' thing had thrown a bigger wrench into the situation.

Tess hated the colloquial term, but it seemed to sum her feelings and situation perfectly. "Fuck my life…" she muttered, dropping her head down on her desk a bit harder than she meant to.

For once her life, she had no idea what she was going to do.

'Take it one step at a time. You are going to his house tonight. Test the rocket. Go home. Fix dinner and go to bed. That is it. No ifs ands or buts.' She chided herself.

She chanted this to herself as she drove Percy to the Gru household, following the patriarch after (she was going to send the bill to him after having her car detailed, anyone who followed him in the tank ended up covered in soot from the engines) picking the kids up from school, only losing him when he strayed to pick up Margo at her school.

He didn't lead her inside his home when they arrived, just around to the gate that fenced the backyard. Tess knew that Gru was selective about who he let inside his home. Tess, being an extension of the arm of the law, and being a relative stranger to him, was not on that small list. Taking a few steps into the entryway a few nights ago, by way of the Minions, was a breach.

Gru seemed to be blocking out all this mess about Cassie Whitlock and Agnes' custody, probably trying to keep the girls calm by not seeming to be too upset over the matter and to keep himself from seeking Cassie Whitlock out and slitting her throat. He actually seemed excited about the test launch.

Tess knew that Gru was shutting the world out for the moment. Building a rocket, science, was understandable to Gru and controllable, unlike the situation of Agnes' rightful custody. Right now, Gru probably let himself believe that everything was fine.

In the backyard (which was just as dead as the front yard), a small, portable launch pad was built. Gru placed the rocket in the center and struck a match.

"Ready?" He asked Percy and Edith, grinning. It was the first time Tess saw Gru smile at anyone besides his daughters. Margo and Agnes had come out and were standing on the porch. Agnes was holding her ears in case the rocket blew up. Edith looked like she was about to jump out of her skin in excitement.

Tess was finally to get a real look at Gru, consciously a least. She had stared at him several times without really knowing it. He had a magnificent upper body, with broad shoulders. He was probably stronger than many thought he was. His file said he had just turned 51 a few months prior, but he honestly didn't look like it. Or act like it, either. That whole 'no ifs ands or _buts_' thing was starting to sound ironic. She couldn't keep herself from one innocent glance as he bent over to light the fuse. She was not displeased. Despite the dangerous occupation he had chosen for himself, he took care of himself.

The sizzling of the rocket's fuse brought Tess out her daydreams. Suddenly, the rocket shot straight up in the air. Just as it was about to disappear from sight, the parachute deployed and it floated gently to the ground. Tess, Gru, Margo, Edith and Agnes all cheered. The test launch was successful!

"I want to build another!" Edith exclaimed.

Gru examined the rocket thoroughly when he returned with it. It had landed in the nearby park and was still perfectly intact aside from the scorch marks on the base and fins. "I would be surprised if the two of you didn't win the science fair. All your rocket needs right now is to add more of the fuel and replace the parachute."

Tess was so proud of her nephew and his new friend. They had built a functional rocket; something that flew… for some reason, knowing that her nephew made something that flew astounded her. They even built the rocket with minute help from Gru! That and, Percy had made a new friend, something that he wasn't very good at. He was coming out of his shell.

Tess subconsciously procrastinated on Gru's case for the rest of the week. She had no real deadlines, just as long each active case got attention. Tess also had a certain amount of clout at work. Daniels knew how Tess worked, when she was stumped, she'd put the case to the side temporarily and look into another. Her fresh eyes always produced results. He wasn't worried. That week, she was able to bring in two criminals and an entire gang, each case leading to a conviction. He never once had to take a case from her and send it to a criminologist who he thought would be more competent. More often than not, she was the one who was given those cases. Daniels thought that this is what she was doing with Felonious Gru's case, sitting it aside for the moment, but really, she was sitting it aside, hoping it'd disappear. Friday could not come fast enough for Tess; it meant she didn't have to make any progress on Gru's case for two days.

After lunch on Friday, Tess was able to take the rest of the day off to make it to the science fair. The fair was held in the school's auditorium and all the chairs were pushed aside for booths the experiments were based on. Percy's and Edith's booth was somewhere in the middle and Gru was already there with them.

Their rocket sat proudly in the middle of table, under its launch pad. Percy and Edith had decorated the rocket after the test launch and calling it The Ediper Suttergru saying it needed to look 'official' and the name sounded like Latin, an amalgamation of their names. A trifold board sat behind it with their essay on how they made it and the science behind it was glued to it.

"Have you guys already been judged?" Tess asked, fearing she was late.

"No. The teacher's just started." Percy replied, pointing to a cluster of teachers at the front of the room, a few booths into the judging.

"A couple of other kids have projects that do stuff, like ours. We're getting skipped over till the end so everyone can see whatever they do and the teachers will grade us then." Edith explained.

As time passed and the teachers graded one booth after the other, Percy was getting nervous and Edith was getting impatient.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention please?" A teacher said through a mike from the stage behind everyone. "We are ready to grade the projects that require demonstrations. We are starting with Kalynn Copeland and Chelsea Hutchins."

Two little girls moved outside with one of their father's carrying a handmade volcano. Everyone followed and expected to see it erupt into a goopy mess (which is why it was taken outside), but unfortunately it failed to erupt. The only eruption was one of the girls erupting into tears.

"Edith Gru and Percy Sutterfield." The teacher called.

Carefully, they retrieved the rocket and set it down in the place the principal designated for their launch. Gru followed behind them and lit the rocket. It went off without a hitch. As their audience cheered, both Tess and Gru ran to get the rocket, letting Edith and Percy bask in their praise.

Their hands touched as they both grabbed the rocket, it was still warm. Just his hand was enough to set her heart aflutter with that mysterious electricity. Like last time, Gru felt it as well.

"I'm sorry. For all of this. For this investigation. For what's happening to Agnes. I honestly do not know what I'll do." She blurted, the words coming like a waterfall.

This time, Gru did not immediately remove his hand. No, this time, he got a better hold of Tess' hand, wrapping it in his own. "I trust you will make the right decision." was all he said.

As he walked of, Tess muttered to herself, "At least someone does." Because either way, she felt like whatever decision she would make, letting Gru go or sending him to prison, would be the wrong one.

Author's note: SeventhSinner got it right first, along with JeMS7 and Cutie Kyuubi, I named the minions after Pirates of the Caribbean characters. _Jack_Sparrow_,__and__,_ _James_Norrington. I love Norrington…be still my heart! Also, a big thank you to ancientdragonduelist for the lovely review in the last chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Monday came too quickly. Monday meant that Tess had seven days until her brother and sister in law returned from their vacation. In seven days, Tess had better have turned Gru in already or at least made more progress. She hadn't touched his case file in days and she knew that Daniels jump down her throat if she didn't soon.

To make up for a lack of progress on that case, she was hard on herself with her other cases. She even looked over a five year old cold case and solved it. She hoped that bought her some time with Daniels before he asked about Gru's case.

During her lunch break (the only real reprieve she allowed herself) she looked over the report of Cassie Whitlock's home inspection and interview. Technically, Tess was not authorized to view this information, but the social worker was a friend of a friend and owed Tess a favor.

The interview had taken place at Cassie's parent's house, while it went better that Tess would have hoped, Cassie's answers still showed she wasn't quite mature enough for a child, but her parents made it clear that they would be there if Cassie and Agnes fell; that helped her case. Tess looked over the home inspection report and saw that Cassie had failed that part. She had taken the social worker to an apartment she would rent with a friend. The apartment was old and run down and not in a good part of town, thus was declared unfit for a child. The social worker had interviewed Cassie's friend as well and she was deemed a bad influence on a child. While Gru was not out of the woods yet, Tess felt better knowing he had the advantage.

Suddenly, Tess' phone rang, startling her. Looking at the caller id, it was Gru. They had exchanged phone numbers after the science fair (which Percy and Edith won); both claiming it was just in case something with Agnes' custody came up. They both knew it was just an excuse to have each other's number though neither knew how the other really felt about other.

"Hello?" She answered.

"I just received a court summons." Gru said, "For Agnes' custody trial." he clarified. "Do you have any more information on the case?" Anxiety laced his voice.

Holding her cell in the crook of her neck, Tess shuffled through the papers to find the court date. It was scheduled for the first of next month. "Cassie failed the home inspection. You shouldn't have anything to worry about. The court date is just a formality."

Gru sighed heavily in relief, as though he hadn't slept well in days. There was a slight, awkward silence until Gru spoke up, "Uh, Edith was wanting Percy to come over to play tonight. To celebrate their win at the science fair." He said, nervously.

Tess knew that was a lie, but she went along with it. She wanted to see Gru, too. They made plans to let the kids see each other that night. For the rest of the day Tess had that silly school girl crush feeling, knowing that Gru more than likely reciprocated her feelings for him. She let herself forget about her troubles for the rest of her day.

When she went to pick up Percy, Gru was already there as usual. Instead in being all the way up in the tank he called a car, he was standing outside of it.

"Hey stranger." Tess said, getting out her car and walking up to him, smiling. "I just wanted to let you know if there's anything you need, just let me know. Like if you need a sitter or anything."

A small smile crept across Gru's face, "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

The school bell rang and the children rushed out.

"We're going Edith's house tonight, Perce." Tess said to her nephew.

"All right!" Edith exclaimed, "I can show you my bug collection!" She said to Percy.

When they arrived, Tess and Percy were led inside. Edith didn't waste a moment grabbing her and Percy and giving them the grand tour. Gru stayed close by.

The entire house had the same décor style as the entryway. Antique weapons and torture devices were displayed like art and newspaper clippings featuring Gru's crimes were hung on the walls like trophies. In the living room, the dog like creature named Kyle was laying on the couch. Tess didn't know whether to back away slowly from the creature, but Kyle seemed to be more interested in the TV than to harm Tess. The furniture was shaped like bronzed creatures, a dragon sofa and rhinoceros armchair. In the corner, there was the biggest Venus flytrap Tess had ever seen. Suspended from the ceiling was an antique cannon. The rest of the house was the same. Juxtaposing the theme of the décor, the fridge was covered in the girl's report cards and progress reports, A+ homework assignments, tests and essays, and countless drawings. It showed that despite all the weapons and evil, Felonious Gru had a heart and loved his daughters. Tess couldn't help but smile.

Agnes wondered by and Tess saw what she was holding, "Why is Agnes carrying around a toilet brush with an ice cream cone on top of it?" she asked Gru with a raised eyebrow.

Gru shook his head, "Don't ask. A couple of the minions gave it to her on her first night here. Of all the toys she has, I can't get that thing away from her!"

"It's special to her." Tess explained.

"Dad! Go show Miss Sutterfield the lab!" Edith exclaimed happily as she pulled Percy outside to show him her bug collection. Tess had the distinct impression the girls were trying to set their father up with her.

Gru thought for a moment. He trusted Tess because of what she was doing for him and Agnes. He felt something for her that he wasn't quite ready to put a label on yet. Gru was fairly certain she felt the same way, or else she wouldn't bother. She had more than enough information to bring him to prison by now.

"Follow me." He finally said.

Gru led Tess back into the living room where he pressed a button on rhinoceros armchair. The cannon above them moved down. Two of the four chains holding it place released and the barrel pointed down, open ended. A base came up through the floor and the cannon connected to it.

Gru took Tess' hand and led her around to the other side where the cannon had opened up into a clear, tube-like elevator that was lit by a blue glow with no identifiable source. He stepped up into the elevator and offered his hand to Tess to help her inside. As soon as she was inside, the doors sealed shut and the elevator took off.

After several moments of darkness, the world below her feet opened up. The lab's main area was a large metal room, about the size of several football fields, with numerous doors that led to other rooms. Hundreds of little yellow minions were scattered across the expanse that was filled with computers, machinery, but mostly weapons. Tess didn't know whether to be in awe or fear.

"H-How did you do this?" Tess asked, not believing her eyes.

"I built it." Gru replied. "Not as in I had my accomplice Nefario build it, as in _I_ built it. It reaches one hundred miles underground and is goes as long as seven houses down from my own. You asked me if my daughters are safe here and I assure you, they are. If something happens in the lab or another villain wants to hurt them, they are protected. There are several hundred layers of blast-proof material separating my home from my lab. If anything goes wrong in lab, the girls will be safe. I have several back-up generators and a security system that is better than the President's. At the press of a button, this house can turn impenetrable from the outside. I have a security camera for each possible angle outside to capture the identity if I'm ever attacked. If, for some reason, it is no longer safe for my daughters here, I have a safe house in Russia. The coordinates are already programmed into my airship. In it, from here to Russia is only a days journey. The minions have instructions to protect them over me and get them to the safe house if needed. I am already teaching them how to defend themselves. With me, they are safe. It would be easier to break into the White House, than here."

Tess scoffed, "How do you know what the White House security is like?"

"Because I broke in once." Gru replied casually.

"Bull. Shit."

He walked over to a desk and pulled out an old leather bound book that read, PROPERTY OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES on the cover.

"Is that the President's book of secrets?!" Tess asked, astonished.

"It is. He has a copy, while I have the real one."

"Why do you have it?"

Gru shrugged, "It started out as curiosity over what really happened at Area 51."

Tess cut Gru off, "You broke into the White House because you wanted to know if aliens exist?" she asked incredulously.

"How else would I know?" He asked.

"Do they?" Tess asked, nervously.

"How do you think I have the minions? Or Kyle? Yes, they do exist and inside," He thumped the book, "was a formula from the aliens to create life."

"Are you creating more minions?"

"No. I have roughly eight or nine thousand. That's plenty."

Suddenly, there was a loud boom as a small bomb went off. The minion who caused it was totally unharmed but frazzled. "How did he survive that?" Tess asked.

"They are practically immortal. Shoot them, stab them, whatever, nothing will happen. They're like a cockroach. I created the minions myself as well out of mutated DNA. Kyle, on the other hand, was a fluke. He randomly congealed in a corner of the lab out of spilt lighter fluid, gasoline and the DNA of a dog, human, tiger, and a wildebeest that somehow got tracked inside."

"Lighter fluid and gasoline. That explains his disposition." Tess mused.

"I would show you the entirety of my lab, but that would take several days and the kids have homework." Gru stated, leading Tess back to the elevator.

"Before you girls can play, you have to get your homework done." Gru said Edith and Margo, who were watching TV with Percy. Agnes was on the floor with Kyle, braiding his sparse fur. There were the two minions that were charged with looking over the girls, but they seemed to be slacking on the job, watching TV.

"You too, Perce." Tess added.

The children huffed and retrieved their backpacks.

Suddenly, there was a large explosion that nearly knocked Tess and Gru off their feet. He caught her in his arms and held her protectively as the aftershocks reverberated. It was much larger than the one caused by the minion and felt and sounded like it came from outside. Paintings and pictures fell from the walls with a crash. Bookcases fell over, littering their contents on the floor under them. Tess could hear things falling from the floors above them. Another, larger explosion shook the house and everyone inside it.

Blast shields instantly dropped down from the windowsills and top of the front door, covering the door and windows. With the windows blocked, the room was covered in darkness. An alarm sounded throughout the house. Tess felt her heart pounding hard in her chest and noticed her hands were shaking. Despite her job, she had never been in real danger before. She heard another explosion and seriously began to wonder if this was the last day of her life.

"Everyone come with me!" Gru called, scooping Agnes up with one arm and keeping his other on Tess as Margo, Edith, Percy, Kyle and the two minions followed them to the lab.

"We are safe down here." Gru said, putting Agnes down and hurried over to an array of computers. "Jacob! Ready our defenses!" He ordered to a minion at another console.

Kyle began to whine and hid under a desk. The two minions that came with them ran off to help Gru. Edith was silent, Tess could tell she was swallowing her fear and Margo didn't know what to think.

"Someone has attacked us." Gru said after several long moments of analyzing the screen in front of him. Tess walked up beside him and looked at the screen. It was security footage of the front of the house, facing the yard and street. Tess saw a midsized bomb fly towards the camera, coming from some straight ahead distance. It landed in the front yard, doing only damage to the ground and sidewalk, but still sent the shockwaves that everyone felt. Two more came towards the house, but never hit their target.

"I'm scared!" Agnes yelled, bursting into tears.

Tess picked her up and said to all the girls and Percy, who looked just as scared Agnes, "We're going to be alright. Nothing has hit the house." She soothed, while that was true, she had no idea when the last one would be and if it would the house. Not knowing terrified her.

"Dr. Nefario! Analyze that bomb for any indications of who sent it." Gru ordered an old man who came out of nowhere. He looked at Tess then back at Gru.

"Not this again," He grumbled to himself. "I'm on it!" He said to Gru's order.

"We're going to have to stay down here for several hours until it's safe to go back up." He turned to Tess, "You probably have to call in sick tomorrow and the kids will have to miss school."

The children were so afraid that they didn't even cheer about missing school.

"I built the lab to function as a safe room or bunker of sorts. While we're safe as long as we're in the lab, there are living areas with everything we need. The girls have their room with their beds. Tess and Percy, you two can have my bedroom. I'll probably be here monitoring things all night anyway. Leon," He said to a minion, "show them to the rooms."

The little minion led them to the far side of the lab and down a hallway. At the end of the hall, he opened a door.

He spoke to them, but only the girls seemed to understand and went inside.

Inside was set up like living room in the middle of the room with a couch and a few chairs and a TV mounted on the wall. To the right was a full kitchen and to the left was a dining room with a table and chairs.

The minion jabbered and Margo translated for Tess and Percy, "He says that room is yours," she pointed to a door on the right, ahead of them. "The one next to it is ours."

Tess nodded, and ushered the kids to the dining room table. "Just because you aren't going to school tomorrow, that doesn't mean you can skip your homework." Tess said, putting on a brave face for the kids and trying to distract them. They nodded and set their backpacks on the dining room table and proceeded with their homework.

Tess needed to be distracted to. She looked at the kitchen and decided to prepare dinner for everyone if it was possible. It was a little early for dinner, but Tess didn't care. The fridge was stocked entirely with fresh food. Examining what she had available, she decided on chicken noodle soup. It would take a bit to prepare and cook, so starting dinner so early was justifiable. It was also more time to keep Tess distracted from the small war going on outside.

She hadn't heard another bomb since they came down to the lab, but Tess wasn't quite ready to take a chance in going back to the house above them. While the house had many defenses, it could not withstand a direct bomb hit like the lab could.

As time passed, Tess could tell that the children were calming down and were now playing a board game at the table. Tess felt better too.

"Dinner is ready." she said, opening the cabinets and ladling the soup into bowls for everyone. The kids hurried from the table and grabbed their soup.

"You like our dad, don't you?" Margo asked knowingly as she and Tess walked back to the dining room table and sat down.

Tess smiled, "I do."

"He's claustrophobic and can't ride roller coasters without getting sick. He picks the mushrooms off of his pizza and throws them to Kyle, even though he says we can't feed him from the table. Agnes started saying things like he does, like 'gleeter'. She doesn't realize he has an accent and we don't." Margo said.

"We're the only students our teachers have ever had that our dog has really eaten our homework." Edith said proudly, slurping a noodle.

"Really?" Tess asked, genuinely curious.

"Yep. Dad had to email our teacher to prove it." Margo replied.

Tess smiled and listened intently as the girls told her about all of Gru's idiosyncrasies. After dinner, Margo, Edith and Percy did the dishes as Agnes colored. Getting a clean bowl and utensils, Tess ladled out some soup for Gru.

She found him at the same workstation they left him at, analyzing the live security footage. "You need break. Have some soup."

Gru stretched and turned away from the screen, accepting the bowl of soup. "Are the children ok?" He asked.

"They're fine. Homework is all finished and are playing a board game right now." Tess answered.

"Good."

A couple of minions walked by and started making a kissy faces at Tess and Gru. He rolled his eyes. "Just ignore them."

An awkward silence hung over them, to end it Tess suddenly blurted, "You'd make a great unmasked Darth Vader…"

Gru chuckled, "Thanks, I think. The girls are trying to get me to dress up for Halloween this year."

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about Halloween. Last year Percy wanted to be an octopus and my sister in law and I spent days making the costume for him. The day of Halloween when I was hot gluing the last tentacle on, I hot glued my hair to it. My sister in law had to cut off several inches just to get me free!"

Both laughed heartily, "Edith tried dying her hair pink a few months ago. I have no idea where she got the hair dye!"

Tess and Felonious fell into conversation easily. They both talked about funny stories involving Percy or the girls and a little about where they came from. It flowed easily between them with smiles and laughs long after the soup was gone.

"Why did you trust me with all that knowledge about your lab and home?" Tess asked.

"Because I know you're just as confused as I am. I have been since I meant you. I like you Tess and I trust you. You're putting your career on the line for my daughter and me. While I hope you don't make your decision about what you will do with your case solely for me, I still believe you will make the right one for all of us."

"Why did Nefario say 'not this again'?"

Felonious sighed, "It's not the happiest story or one I'm proud of. I first adopted the girls only to use them in one of my plans, but we became attached and I had no intentions on returning them as I once planned. However, Dr. Nefario thought they were getting in the way of our plans and called Miss Hattie, saying I wanted to return them. I let them go and it was the biggest mistake of my life. He's probably thinking I'll neglect our goals because of you." Felonious explained.

"And you still let him work for you after he did that?"

"He saved our lives shortly after. I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do without him."

Another pause fell between them, albeit a comfortable one.

"My daughters have to like you. We're a package deal; you can't have one without the other." Felonious said suddenly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You have three amazing daughters. Do they like me?" Tess asked, hopefully.

"They've been trying to set us up."

Tess laughed, not wanting to reply verbally. She didn't want to get her hopes up of having much of a future with him. It was bound to end in disaster because of his or her jobs.

Tess idly looked at her phone; it was three thirty in morning. "Dear god, it's late!" She explained, showing Felonious the time. He looked surprised too.

"You should go to bed. I'll be here, monitoring things."

Tess nodded and stood up. Just as she was walking away, Felonious took her hand, pulled her to him and kissed her.

Tess felt that familiar jolt of electricity and instantly melted into the kiss, as he wrapped his arms around her.

She didn't care if a relationship with him was doomed. She just wanted this to be her last first kiss and there to be more from him.

Author's note: Yes, I know no human has ever broken past seven miles of the earth's surface, but it's Gru we're talking about here, he created his own race of creatures! Just ignore logic and science hahaha


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: To Celestia's Paladin: Yes! I was wondering if anyone would say anything about it. I saw a connection and I ran with it haha.

Tess was floating ever since the kiss. He kissed her again just before she and Percy left the next evening. In that time, they talked, they laughed, they kissed and Tess let herself fall into a little fantasy land where nothing but the two of them, the kids, the minions and lab existed. There was nothing that could tear them apart. Felonious couldn't be killed during a mission, Tess' job couldn't interfere and her world was perfect.

When she and Percy left, Felonious called her just as his house disappeared in her rearview and stayed on with her until they made it home. Tess couldn't help the smile on her face and how happy she felt. Felonious was the last person she spoke to before she went to bed that night.

Tess had been in relationships before, of varying intensities. She was almost engaged to a man that she was head over the heels, full-fledged in love with, but when she found out he hated her family, she didn't hesitate in calling it all off. She knew Felonious was different. He liked Percy and even helped him with a previous science chapter that was still giving Percy problems. The day after they took shelter in the lab, Percy shadowed Felonious, watching him in the lab and Felonious explained everything he was doing (innocuous things of course, nothing that had to do with his crimes). The girls couldn't care less and Tess had a feeling the Felonious liked the idea of Percy taking an interest.

She had no idea what the rest of her family would think of Felonious. Her mother would probably fear for Tess' life. Her father would probably think she was still going through some sort of 'bad boy' phase and her brother would probably have her committed. Right then, Tess wasn't too concerned. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

If they came to it.

The second she stepped over threshold of her office building, Tess felt like she had a big, ugly, scarlet letter smack in the middle of her chest. She felt like everyone knew about her and Felonious. She knew that was totally impossible, she hadn't told a soul about her feelings for him. It was merely paranoia. If someone did find out what was going on, Tess could lose her job and a new criminologist would be assigned Felonious' case that wouldn't hesitate to send the police after him. Then the girls would be sent back to Miss Hattie, thus ruining their lives and since Tess wouldn't have a job, no self-respecting judge would grant her custody of the girls so at least they had a nice home and where together.

Tess was starting to hyperventilate and panic. She needed to calm down and stop overanalyzing everything. She buried herself in her work to take her mind off her worries. Tess' biggest personality flaw was that she could drive herself into a sheer panic over a mere possibility. Digging in her desk drawer, she found her bottle of St. John's Wart and downed the pill with her coffee. That usually helped.

Around noon, she received a call (after a couple of clandestine calls from Felonious) from her friend that knew Cassie's social worker.

"Tess, I have some bad news. Cassie Whitlock spoke her lawyer and she bought a house on Brookside."

Tess felt her heart drop into her stomach and a cold sweat break out over her body. She couldn't believe her ears.

"What?" She said dumbly.

"Cassie bought a house! It's in her name and everything. Apparently she found an amazing job and can prove that she can afford it. It's being furnished with new furniture that she bought, not stuff from Rent-a-Center or somewhere. The utilities and are on and in her name too. Agnes' room is being set up as we speak."

"How can she do this so suddenly?!" Tess exclaimed in shock.

"Her parents and grandparents are quite well to do. It was them who gave her the money, methinks."

"Did she really get a job?!"

"Yes, she's a works for Dr. Zellner over on Memorial Drive _and_ is still going to school full time."

"She can't win Agnes' custody. She'll never be around to see her." Tess countered.

"Plenty of young mothers do it now, it's a moot point. Felonious Gru is a felon and is convicted of _murder_, Tess. Not an accidental manslaughter, but 'I did it on purpose and planned it' murder. Even with his lawyers, he doesn't have the advantage anymore."

Tess was silent and hung up the phone, without another word. She wasn't mad at her friend for telling her the news, she just couldn't take anymore. She was done with the conversation. Calmly, Tess turned her computer off, stood up, grabbed her purse, and left without a word. She drove in silence to Felonious' house and knocked on the door. It took longer than she expected for Felonious to answer the door.

'He was probably in the lab,' she barely thought.

"Tess!" He smiled, but he saw her face and his expression turned to concern. "What's wrong?" He asked, ushering her inside.

Tears started to fall silently down her cheeks. "Cassie Whitlock bought a house. She has the upper hand now."

Emotions stormed through Tess. She was angry at herself for not being able to foresee this happening. It was her job to predict people's actions. She was sad for Felonious and Agnes. She was scared for her, Margo and Edith. If Agnes was taken out of Felonious' custody, then it set precedence for Margo and Edith to be taken as well. All Tess could do was to cry silently, no sobbing, no ragged breaths. She was somewhere being numb and acutely aware.

"What should I do?" Felonious asked, quietly.

"Spend as much time with her as possible. Don't take that as a sign that I've given up. I'm not done fighting for Agnes and I will do whatever it takes to keep her with you. It's where she belongs." Tess said, resolutely.

Felonious nodded. No more words were exchanged, only a kiss before Tess left.

'I'm done with tears. I am not going to wallow in sadness. I am going to fight to Agnes.' She thought.

When she got back to work, she formulated her plan and pushed all her cases to the side. The court date was in two weeks, so she had some time to play with. Tess looked up custody laws for a loophole, but found nothing. She called her friend that she spoke to earlier and asked if she had any leads.

"Well, I know of several files of men who were in jail and married women on the outside with children and wanted to adopt those children. I can get a hold of those for you. I don't know how the judged ruled though, but it might help."

Tess finally felt some relief and she left work to pick up Percy feeling a sense of optimism.

Felonious was there at the school as usual, this time Agnes was with him. He smiled a sad smile whenever he looked at his little girl.

Agnes ran off to chase a butterfly and she took this as a chance to tell Felonious the news.

"I will be receiving a few case files that may help us. They're of similar situations that may set precedence for our case. Criminal fathers adopting children."

Felonious looked hopeful, "That's great. I'm relieved to know that we're not the only ones this is happening to."

"I should get them by the end of the week. Although I don't know how they turn out." Tess admitted.

"Couldn't we use cases where average families adopted children and the birth mother came back?" Felonious asked.

"No. You're too…_unique._" Tess said, searching for the right word. Felonious chuckled. "It makes a difference."

Just as the bell rang, Felonious asked, "Would you and Percy like to join us for dinner?"

Tess smiled, "That sounds great."

As soon as they arrived at Felonious' home, they had the children do their homework. Tess and Felonious helped them out.

"I don't know where I want to college, Dad." Margo said, sounding frustrated as she pulled a handful of college brochures out of her backpack.

"We still have time for that Margo," Felonious reassured. "Right now, I just want you to make the best grades you can."

"I'm not going to college. I'm going to be a villain like Dad!" Edith proudly announced, standing up her chair.

"Yes you are." Felonious and Tess corrected.

As she and Felonious entered the kitchen, he closed the door behind them and groaned, "I wish she would stop talking about college."

"Not ready for it, huh?" Tess asked.

"Not even remotely." Felonious said, shaking his head.

Both were trying not to think about the current situation.

"You'll be in your seventies by the time Agnes is in college."

"I refuse to age and I refuse to die."

Tess laughed heartily.

She helped him prepare dinner and as they all ate, Tess once again allowed herself to fall into her fantasy world. This was her family and this was her home. Nothing was wrong in the world and their lives were perfect. Every morning on her way to work, she dropped the girls off at their schools, (and Percy to if he was stayed the night). Tess would work on her cases that had nothing to do with her husband. She would pick the kids up at school on her way home. The kids would do their homework and play while she and Felonious cooked dinner. They would have dinner just like this one, every night. Then she and Felonious would go upstairs and she would fall asleep in his arms.

Felonious noticed that Tess was daydreaming and she was a bit embarrassed when she realized he noticed. He merely shot her a knowing smile. Again that night, Tess left Felonious with a kiss and talked to him on the phone just as they went to bed.

As soon as she sat down at her desk that next morning, Daniels' secretary told Tess that he wanted to see her.

Tess thought nothing of it. She was frequently called into his office to discuss cases.

Today was different.

The air was different in the office and just Daniels' posture told Tess that he was not a happy camper. Tess thought it was merely a criminal that was giving him problems.

"I looked at the files you've compiled for Felonious Gru's case. We know he's doing something. We know when we can bring him in safely and get him. What I don't understand is _why haven't you called it yet?_You haven't touched this case in days and Gru should have been behind bars by now. I can't believe I'm even having this conservation with you of all people, Tess! You're the best criminologist this place has seen in years!"

"I can't turn him in, Chief!" Tess exclaimed, "He's all those girls have!"

"Call the damn criminal in and closed this case, Agent Sutterfield." Daniels' said sharply, staring her down. It was the first time he ever used her title on her and she knew she was in trouble.

"I can't. It's not right."

"You're off the case then. And for your blatant disregard for it, you are removed from the force. You're fired, Tess."

Tess was stunned. This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen to her. All her fears were coming true. A new criminologist would be assigned and Gru will be arrested.

"Go clean out your desk. That will be all." Daniels said, solemnly.

Stunned, Tess stood up and left the office.

In what used to be her office, the files Tess requested were on the desk. She looked through the folder with shaking hands. All the cases ended with the adoption of the children in question being denied.

There was nothing more she could do for Felonious.

He will lose Agnes.


	8. Chapter 8

"I am not going to wallow. I was the lead criminologist for the FBI and I can get another job. I will have a new job by next week." Tess chanted to herself over the course of the next few days. It kept her calm and her mind on track. She needed to be looking for a job, not freaking out.

The day after Tess lost her job, her brother and sister-in-law returned for Percy. It presented her with a new challenge; how she was going to tell her family she had lost her job. Telling them wasn't necessarily the problem, it was the question they would undoubtedly ask, 'why?' Why did their daughter lose her job?

'Because I overstepped my boundaries with a criminal and neglected my job for him,' she thought sardonically.

She would never tell anyone that. Tess would probably make something up. She would also never tell them that she didn't regret it either. She knew was doing the right thing. The girls were safe with Felonious and needed to be with him.

'But is the world safe from Felonious?' A nagging voice asked in the back of her mind.

Tess was prepared to overlook that part of him, but only if it met her conditions.

She would tell her family about her job when she acquired a new one.

That week, she filled out countless applications for a new job and had a few employers interested in her. She had several interviews set up for the next week.

Next week was the court date. Felonious had only one more week with his daughter. Tess felt her heart clench at the thought. She could just see Felonious in Agnes' room, packing away her things in cold cardboard boxes. Tears stung her eyes.

'I could have done more.' She thought angrily. She knew that she could not have done more for Agnes, but she would not allow herself to feel anything but guilty.

Around noon, she received a call from Felonious. He was taking Agnes to the park and invited her to come along. Despite her rotten mood, she wasn't about to pass up time with Felonious.

As Tess drove to the park, she buzzed with excited and nervous energy at the thought of seeing Felonious again. She felt silly, and hadn't felt this way about a guy since high school, but she didn't care. Tess was going to enjoy as much time with Felonious as she could before they would undoubtedly be pulled away from each other.

Felonious greeted Tess with a kiss as Agnes ran to the monkey bars.

"Help me daddy!" She exclaimed excitedly, pointing up to the metal bars.

He smiled a sad smile, probably thinking it was one of the last times she would call him daddy. Felonious put on a brave front for her as he helped her across.

After Felonious and Tess taught Agnes how to build sandcastles using a bottle of water, they played tag, swung on the swings and countless other things that almost distracted the adults from the impending future.

Just as Tess and Felonious were wearing out, Agnes started playing a group of little girls her age and became uninterested in playing with either of them. They took this as a chance to sit under a shady tree and catch their breaths, keeping a watchful eye on Agnes. Tess sat down her knees drawn up her chest with her back and her head resting against the trunk of the tree. Felonious laid down, propped up on his elbows with his long legs stretched out before him.

A question that had been nagging Tess for days bubbled up an she asked, "What are we, Felonious?"

He gave her an odd look, not understanding her question. "Are we dating? Am I your girlfriend? Are you my boyfriend? Should I change my Facebook status to 'in a relationship'? If I hear a stupid love song on the radio can I think of you and me? Or do I have bring myself back to reality, knowing I cannot have that?" The questions came one after another and she wanted, needed, answers.

"I prefer the term 'courting'. 'Dating' is too casual. I don't want to waste my time on a woman who doesn't want to put forth the effort to make a relationship last. And I am no more a boy than you are a girl, those terms are too childish, but yes we are in a relationship. As long as you will have me and not run at your first chance of escape?"

Tess' heart fluttered in joy, "Yes Felonious, I will have you and I wouldn't want to run." she answered.

"I take that back, I am giving you one chance to leave. Now. Being with me will not be easy. I cannot always guarantee your safety and I am a man of many enemies. You have seen that for yourself. I may leave on a mission and never come back, save for in a wooden box. However, from me directly, you have nothing to fear. I was raised to treat women with respect and treat them like a queen and I fully intend to with you."

"I'm not leaving."

Felonious smiled, "Good", he said, reaching up, cupping Tess' chin drawing her down for a sealing kiss.

"The irony of our relationship is not lost on me. The word 'felon' is literally part of my name. A criminal and a criminologist." He chuckled. "A criminologist is not a career everyone strives for. It's only suited for certain people. What made you choose such a path?"

Tess quieted, remembering the horrid memory that changed her and her family's lives. She still had nightmares about that night. Tess' entire family just completed therapy from the event only a few years ago. Despite that, they would never the same.

"When I was ten, a man named Andrew Hill broke into my family's house and held us hostage for two days. We were tied up in the living room. I had a gun pointed to my head more times than I want to count. The entire time he kept saying 'God told me I had to kill you people!' He seemed to be at war with himself, never really working up the strength to kill us. Our dog tried to attack him, but he shot her. Thankfully, he was a terrible shot and only hit her paw. She survived. He fell asleep late into the first night and we planned our escape. I was little so I could get out of the rope and get my family free. When I had them freed, it was my mother's job to run next door and call the police. I went with her as my father and brother subdued Hill. Before my brother could grab Hill's gun, he woke up and shot my father and my brother. They survived but it looked grim for a while. Hill was arrested on the spot, but it took forever for the courts to convict. He's now serving a life sentence.

"I wanted to become a criminologist to understand why he would do such a thing to us and to understand what took so long to convict him. To me, it was so black and white. I know now it's not that simple."

"God, Tess. I'm sorry…" Felonious said, feeling bad for drawing up such horrible memories.

"You wouldn't do anything like that, would you?" Tess asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"Never." Felonious said definitely. "I don't want to hurt people and I do my best not to." Tess gave him and incredulous look. "I know that look, the freeze ray is harmless. I would never go after a family or an innocent life. Your police records are wrong. I have only killed one person in my entire career. It was long ago and I did not plan to. It was in self-defense and I had no other option. Manslaughter, yes, I probably have killed people unknowingly, but if they were stupid enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, well, they deserve it. Everything happens for a reason."

Tess didn't want to hear about that subject anymore, so she abruptly changed the subject. "I lost my job." she stated.

"I'll keep you afloat until you find a new one, however long it takes." Felonious said without hesitation, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

A comfortable silence fell between them, until Felonious spoke up. "I wonder if Agnes will remember me. How I saved her and her sisters lives? Will she think the minions and Kyle were just a figment of her imagination?"

Tess knew that since Agnes was so young, it was unlikely that her time with Felonious would be remembered. Felonious didn't need to hear that. "She'll remember you." She reassured.

Conversation ceased once more. Tess idly glanced at her phone. "It's almost time to go get Margo and Edith."

Felonious nodded, "Will you stay for dinner?"

"I would love to."

At dinner, Tess found it harder and harder to fall into her safe fantasy land. The truth was looming too close to her. She could feel its hot breath of fear on her neck, feel its decayed arms encircling her and pulling her into its cold, harsh embrace, wanting her to succumb and break down there. Tears threatened to fall once more. She couldn't break down here, not in front of the girls.

Suddenly, Felonious' voice brought her back to reality. "Girls, I have an announcement to make. Tess and I are courting."

Tess could hear crickets in the background. They didn't understand his terminology. "We're dating." She clarified.

The girls cheered happily.

"I'm so happy for you, dad!" Margo gushed.

"Does this mean we have to listen to her, too?" Edith whined.

"Do you have a unicorn or a pony?!" Agnes asked Tess, eagerly.

"I'm afraid not, Agnes," Tess giggled.

"Yes, Edith you have to listen to Tess. I want you all to treat her with the same respect you do me." Felonious answered.

Both adults knew that only two girls would be left to listen to Tess this time next week. Possibly none of the girls would be there. It was all a front to keep the girls happy.

While not being able to dissolve into her own perfect world like she wanted too, the girls kept Tess distracted by all kinds of questions. Margo asked questions about Tess to get to know her. Edith asked about hypothetical consequences for misbehavior, trying to discern if Tess was strict or a softy and how to exploit it. Agnes kept asking if Tess had a unicorn or pony.

Tess stayed late, not having anywhere to be the next day. She sat down on the dragon like couch as Felonious put the girls to bed. Kyle had followed Agnes upstairs. He was apparently very protective of the girls.

Her phone rang, startling her. Seeing it was merely a Facebook notification, she was about to put her phone away when she remembered the conversation she and Felonious had at the park. She smiled as she changed her relationship status from 'single' to 'in a relationship.'

Tess heard Felonious coming down the stairs. She smiled and showed him her phone. It was silly, but it made her happy. It took a second for him to figure out what he was looking at. Felonious was not interested in social networks and grimaced when he learned his mother had a Facebook, however Felonious smiled at this.

"You're all mine." He said, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her lovingly. When they pulled away, Tess was content to stay in his arms forever. She felt safe and happy.

For the next few days, Tess practically lived with Felonious. She came over early to help get the girls to school and stayed until well after they had gone to bed.

By Friday, Felonious' mood darkened, Tess knew that he thinking of the dwindling time he had with Agnes. Monday was the day of the trial. Felonious put Agnes and her sisters to bed, on the last night, knowing he would never do this again. He finally broke down after he came back down stairs. Tess stayed strong for him, but broke down soon after he did. They just held each other, taking turns crying. They both had failed.


	9. Chapter 9

Tess was awoken at three in the morning that night. Her phone was ringing and she could sense it was something important. Blearily, she fumbled for the cell on her nightstand.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice dimmed with sleep.

"Cassie Whitlock was arrested an hour ago," It was her social worker friend that had helped her previously. Her name was Amber and specialized in younger people when they start going wayward. Amber was probably assigned to Cassie's case. She sounded happy, like she couldn't wait to tell Tess.

"What?" Tess asked, shooting up in her bed, instantly awake. Was this really happening? Was it just a cruel hopeful dream?

"She was driving drunk, err, buzzed driving. She blew under though, but just barely. She was with her friends who were all legally intoxicated. Cassie was released to her parents after they made it to the police station."

Tess' heart thrummed against her chest. She ran a hand through her hair to steady it's shaking. "What does this mean?" She asked hopefully.

"Agnes' case was assigned Judge John Mumford. He's been on a soap box about drunk driving since his son was killed by one several years ago. This levels the playing field. He'll want to the throw the book at Cassie and make her really regret this decision. That may mean he'll rule in favor of Gru."

"What?" Tess asked again, she heard the words, understood what it meant, but she still couldn't process it.

"Gru has the upper hand again!"

"I have to call him." Tess said, abruptly hanging up on Amber for the second time.

Tess knew she really shouldn't be so happy about this. Someone could have gotten hurt with Cassie driving. Tess knew she shouldn't be happy for Cassie's loss, but Agnes needed to stay with Felonious and if this was the way it was going happen, she'd take it.

The second she knew Felonious answered the phone; she hurriedly spoke, even before he could say anything, "Cassie Whitlock was arrested tonight for drunk driving. The Judge that was assigned to Agnes' case hates drunk driving and this may give you the advantage again."

Felonious was silent for several long moments. "Are you serious? Don't toy with me like that, Tess."

"I'm serious. My social worker friend works with kids who do stupid stuff like this. She just called me. I wouldn't lie to you, Felonious."

Felonious sighed in relief and his rich laughter filled Tess' ears. "This is incredible! This is just what I need!"

"Don't get your hopes up just yet. This judge is a hard ass either way. Just be wary and get some real sleep! You sound awful!'

"Ha, I'll try. But before I do, may I request your services? I'm keeping Margo and Edith home from school today. I don't want to put too much stress on them with what's happening by piling school work on top of it. I need someone to watch them. Margo is old enough to stay home alone and watch Edith, but I don't think this is the best circumstance. I'd rather someone be with them."

"Of course! I'll be over at my usual time."

"Thank you, Tess. I don't know what I'd do without you. Goodnight."

"Good night Felonious."

Tess was awake the rest of the night. She was too antsy to even try to sleep, so she did what she always did when her mind was getting the better of her; she put herself to work. Since she didn't have any cases to work on (or a job at all, she thought wistfully), she cleaned.

By five that morning, Tess had her laundry caught up and two clean bathrooms to show for it. Afterwards, she got ready for the day ahead of her and headed to Felonious.

When she arrived at just past six thirty, she saw another vehicle parked at the curb. She knocked at the door and the usual au pair minions let her in. They were named Jerry and Stewart and apparently really liked her and started requesting hugs whenever she came and left.

After doting on the minions, she found Felonious in the kitchen with an elderly woman she guessed was his mother. They were both seated around the kitchen table with nearly empty cups of coffee and full, but ignored, plates of food.

His mother was a short woman with angular features and a curly, grey beehive updo and red glasses. Tess was surprised to see that the older woman was wearing, of all things, red Converse shoes. From what Felonious told Tess about her, she was a bit of spit fire.

Felonious himself looked dapper in a black suit and tie. Tess had to stop the inappropriate thoughts that instantly popped into her head that stemmed from how good he looked.

"Good morning," she greeted, upon entering the room and sat down next to Felonious.

"Mom, this is Tess."

"So you're the one my son never shuts up about." Her accent was just as thick as Felonious'.

Felonious groaned and slumped back against his seat, covering his face with his hand.

"Hello, I'm Tess Sutterfield. It's nice to meet you," She said politely.

"Marlena Gru, my son tells me you have helped him Agnes."

"I did what I could." She said modestly.

Tess could tell Marlena was interrogating her, "I also know that you work for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and that you are investigating my son."

She knew Marlena was alluding to the possibility that Tess was only with Felonious for information for her case. "I _was._I lost my job because I refused to work on his case."

Marlena was visibly taken back. "Oh." was all she could say.

"Tess, would you come with me?" Felonious asked.

Tess nodded and followed him down to the lab. She followed him to the back and into a room that looked to be his office. From a drawer in the desk, he pulled out a manila folder with his name at the top. Tess began to wonder…

"A few days ago, your replacement was hired and assigned my case. This person starts today. Last night, I took your files," he said, gesturing with the folder, "and replaced them phonies with false information."

She took the files and looked through them, even though there was nothing different about them. "You had better not have made me look like an idiot in the false reports." Tess said tersely.

Felonious put his hands up, "Of course not. I wrote the false information myself and not the minions."

"Well, I guess that's one less thing to worry about."

This only bought them time. If the new criminologist was smart, he or she would make a move using what they thought was Tess' notes and information. And smarter still, if they went in with heavy backup from the National Guard. Once this person found out all the information was wrong, a new case would have to be built from scratch and to have the National Guard brought in was another can of worms. Approval from Chief Daniels to even contact the National Guard was required and he would have to go over the case with a fine toothed comb (which could take weeks). Then everything on the Guard's part had to be done which could take months, especially if the suspect was not an immediate threat like Felonious. By Tess' calculations, Felonious had roughly a year to figure out what he was going to do.

Tess got lucky with the information Hattie Smith gave her and effectively put her on the right track. Since all the child abuse, endangerment and neglect was struck from his file, they no longer had that lead. Without an address (which Hattie Smith could have provided) to stake out, a criminologist could stumble in the dark for weeks just trying to _find_their suspect to discern a pattern. Anyone who knew anything about Felonious was too afraid of him to talk. She doubted that they would show up at the courthouse, she was fairly certain she was the only one of them knew of this event.

Felonious looked at a clock on the wall and stiffened. He took Tess' hand and said "Come on, I need to get Agnes up and ready."

She nodded and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

When they emerged from the lab, Margo and Edith were sitting on the couch in their pajamas, watching cartoons. As Felonious went upstairs, she could tell by the looks on their faces that their minds were on more important matters. Jerry and Stewart looked absolutely depressed, sitting on the floor, defeated. She had never seen any of the minions act anything but happy and rambunctious. The ferocious Kyle was hiding under an end table with only his tail was visible. He could sense something was up by the mood and thick energy in the room and that spelt trouble.

Tess could hear Marlena in the kitchen washing the dishes. Tess was willing to bet that she was like Marlena; they would rather put themselves to work than let their minds wonder.

Tess sat down on her knees in front of Margo and Edith and took their hands.

"Everything will be ok. I promise." She said, looking each of them in the eyes. Margo began to sob but Edith remained silent, only allowing a single tear to escape. Tess reached up and hugged them both, placing a kiss on their foreheads. Still holding their hands, she brought them closer together so all three pairs were in the middle. "You _will_ always have your father. You _will_ always shave me. You _will_ always have each other." She said.

Tess had no idea what was going to happen. She didn't know if it'd be good or bad, but she knew that she and Felonious' would do everything they possibly could to keep everyone together, lawfully or not.

Tess heard Felonious' heavy footfalls coming down the stairs. She turned and saw Agnes' dressed in a dark blue dress, holding onto her father for dear life, her head buried him his shoulder. Tess' heart clenched at the thought having to separate her and Felonious. Marlena would be at the courthouse with her son and granddaughter, both more than likely sequestered outside the courtroom.

"She's not going to let go." Felonious said, trying to put Agnes down.

"I WANT MOM TO GO!" Agnes yelled.

Everyone froze for a split second. Agnes called Tess mom. At that moment, Tess fell in love with those three girls and became their mother.

"I will sit with her and Marlena until she calms down." Tess said.

Felonious nodded, "Will you two be ok until she returns?" he asked Edith and Margo.

They quietly nodded.

"Ok. Well, let's go." Felonious said, taking a calming breath, but everyone felt like they were walking to their own gallows.

It was Tess' first time riding in the tank but took no joy from it. They were not headed a fun place. Marlena drove Tess' car since Tess doubted her ability to drive the tank back and Agnes wouldn't let Tess out of her sight for even the unbearably short drive to the courthouse.

As soon as they reached the courthouse, Tess saw Cassie and her family. She was dressed in a dress that looked like it came straight of a Hot Topic shelf and large sunglasses, probably nursing a hangover, looking every bit of her young, inexperienced age. Her parents looked like unfriendly rich folks.

Tess suddenly stopped her train of thought. Why was she vilifying these people? They weren't doing anything evil. Cassie just wanted her daughter back and her parents were doing everything they could to help their daughter. There was nothing wrong about it, only that they did not understand that it was not best for Agnes.

A large group of men, dressed in black suits with black sunglasses and black leather suitcases walked side by side, only looking straight in front of them, confidently up to Felonious. They were Felonious' lawyers. They were so focused they were nearly robotic and it was nearly comical.

Tess knew that everything they did was well planned and thought out to play with their opponent's mind and caused fear and self-doubt. They dressed similar and walked together to show they were a unified front and walked Felonious to the courtroom in front of him.

Outside of the courtroom, Felonious was somehow able to extricate Agnes and handed her to Marlena. Tess walked up to Felonious and straightened his tie and smoothed out the lapels on his suit jacket.

"It'll be ok." She said as she kissed him.

Just as they parted, the doors to the courtroom opened. Felonious hugged his mother and Agnes one last time and squeezed Tess' hand as entered the courtroom with his lawyers. Cassie and her family followed closely with her lawyer. The large wooden doors of the courtroom closed loudly, leaving her, Marlena and Agnes in the hallway, sitting on a hard bench.

As soon as Tess sat down, Agnes jumped from Marlena to Tess, burying her head in the crook of Tess' neck. Tess cradled her little body despite the unsettling feeling of a police officer standing with his eyes unwaveringly on Agnes. If Felonious lost Agnes' custody, that man would swoop in and take Agnes from Tess and hand her over to Cassie. He watched to make sure neither Tess nor Marlena tried to kidnap Agnes.

"Do you think he has a shot?" Marlena asked quietly, referring to Felonious and Agnes' custody.

"I have no idea."

Not long after everyone vanished into the courtroom, Tess could easily hear what was going on. She could hear Felonious' angry voice yelling, Cassie wailing uncontrollably and the voice of Cassie's lawyer arguing with all seven of Felonious'. Tess jumped when the sudden sound of the gavel being banged repeatedly stopped the yelling. Judge Mumford's voice thundered over everyone else's. The courts were really between a rock and hard place. It was either to send the girl to her biological mother who couldn't provide for her solely or let her stay with her adoptive father who was convicted of murder.

Tess soon realized that Agnes was fast asleep and took this as an opportunity to return to the older girls. She carefully handed her to Marlena and kissed the little girl on her forehead, fearing she'd never see her again.

As soon as she returned to the older girls, she busied herself with preparing them breakfast that they didn't really eat. Tess didn't blame them. Not even Kyle would eat the leftovers or Jerry or Stewart, so she had Jerry take the rest down to the lab to the minions that had no idea what was going on and thus not sick with worry. After the dishes were clean, Tess found herself with nothing left to do. She was left to her thoughts and that terrified her. She couldn't clean because it wasn't her house and because Felonious kept it very clean. She wasn't sure if the girls had homework or if they did, did they finish it? She would have had them do that and help them, but she didn't want to stress them. All that she could do was sit down with the girls and watch TV.

It was dusk when Tess heard the familiar engines of the tank. Tess couldn't bring herself to look over her shoulder and if Agnes was there, but Edith and Margo already did. They looked out the window, gasped and ran outside. To Tess, that reaction could go either way. Bracing herself, she stood up and followed the girls.

Outside, Agnes was right there in the middle of her sisters, receiving the biggest hug of her life. Felonious and Marlena stood closed by, looking as though they had been through a war or two, but relieved. Tess herself suddenly felt like she had been through war.

Tess slowly walked up to everyone, not really believing her eyes.

"Oh, Agnes," She said, about to cry.

"Mommy!" Agnes exclaimed, running up to Tess.

She caught Agnes and in that moment, Tess felt like she wouldn't let this child, or any of those girls, go for the world.

Turning to Felonious she asked, "So what did Judge Mumford say?"

"I believe the American expression is, 'he hung her out to dry.'" He said with a smug look.

"Really?" Tess asked.

"Even I thought he was harsh. He called her irresponsible and selfish, not just for trying to take Agnes but for driving last night. He said it was all a giant waste of his time." Felonious explained.

Tess honestly felt bad for Cassie, but she was done with all this nonsense. Jerry and Stewart heard the commotion and ran outside, even though they probably weren't allowed to. Agnes quickly forgot about the adults and turned her attention to the two minions who never looked so happy.

Felonious walked over to Tess, picked her up and spun her around. Placing her on the ground, he kissed her. "Thank you." was all he could say.

Later that night, Marlena had gone home and the girls were in bed. Edith tried to get them to let her and sisters have one more day off from school as a 'celebration.' Felonious and Tess were downstairs, sitting on the couch in each other's arms.

"What do think of Agnes' declaration?" Felonious asked, alluding to Agnes calling Tess mom.

"What do you think?" Tess asked. Given the opportunity, Tess wouldn't hesitate to adopt those girls at that moment, but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. She and Felonious had only been 'courting' for a few days.

"Are you going anywhere?" Felonious countered.

"No." Tess said candidly.

"Then I can't think of a better woman to be their mother."

A/N:Don't worry, folks! It's not over yet!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: Thank you so much for your support thus far! Please, take a moment to leave me a review. Even a few short sentences helps! They keep me encouraged to know how much you all feel for this story! Also, I encourage you to check out my profile. I have a section that has status for each story I'm working on, such as estimated date for the next chapter and projected completion date.

I know nothing about the Russian Revolution or its military. I wanted Gru to be something of a Green Beret, but Russian, which I think translates to the Vympel. I wiki'd it and seems it would be a great basis for his criminal career.

Gru's family names are taken from the actual Gru family tree. I think I got his relatives titles right, I can only recognize his parents. The way it's set up makes it easy to lose track of who is who to whom.

* * *

After the trial, Tess was lulled into a false sense of security, this one, she thought was genuine. She contacted one of her former coworkers to find out the status of Felonious' case. The new criminologist seemed daunted by the just the first case assigned and was working on it at a glacial pace. Daniels hadn't reassigned it yet, so Felonious' case was basically floating in a limbo. She asked her friend to call her if the case was ever reassigned. Weeks later, there was no call and Tess suddenly felt the permanence of her relationship with Felonious.

Knowing that if things continued the way they were with Felonious, she knew that there was a distinct possibility that she could end up marrying that man (a thought that induced high pitched squealing and wedding dress ideas). Tess wouldn't have her wedding day as the first time her parents met her husband. Felonious and her family had to meet. Now.

Tess' family was close knit and had family dinners nearly every Sunday. She thought it was as good of a time as any to drop 'your daughter/sister/sister-in-law/aunt is dating a guy on the same list as Saddam Hussein was bomb. She just couldn't bring a Wanted criminal to dinner without some explanation.

"How are you and Mr. Gru?" Percy asked innocently during the 'explanation' dinner.

Everyone looked at Tess. Well, that got things rolling.

Tess felt her stomach flip knowing this was the moment.

"Do you all know who Felonious Gru is?" She asked, looking down at her plate, wishing she was with Felonious and the girls (who were probably having dinner themselves) and _god_ she could still feel his kiss from earlier on her lips. _That_ was not what she needed.

Silence filled the room like an invisible, noxious gas. Tess could feel their eyes on her.

"Of course we do. Who doesn't know who he is?" Her brother, Colin, said, disgust lacing his voice.

"What does he have to do with this?" Her mother, Olivia asked.

Tess said nothing. She knew they had just put two and two together, but she couldn't find her voice. With anyone else who denied her and Felonious' relationship, she would tell them to take a flying leap, that she was happy, but these people where her family. She needed it to be okay with them.

"Tess?" Her sister-in-law, Lizzie asked after Tess went several moments without speaking.

"I'm dating Felonious Gru." She said suddenly, looking up.

The silence in the room intensified. If Tess didn't know any better, judging about how quiet it was in the dining room, she would have thought she were the only person on earth.

Her mother looked as though she were on the verge of tears. She was probably thinking of all the ways her daughter could be killed by such a man.

Her father, Mark, looked mystified. Why would his perfect little girl fall for such a horrible man?

Colin looked angry. If anyone, even Felonious Gru, laid a finger on his sister, he'd slaughter him.

Lizzie's eyes were as round as saucers. Was this really happening? Tess had a better head on her shoulders than that!

And poor Percy, he was looking back and forth at everyone trying to figure out what was wrong. He liked Mr. Gru!

"This is not happening." He mother said in shock, shaking her head and holding her head in her hands.

"You're damn right this isn't happening, Liv. I don't care if you're 36 or if you're some FBI big shot, but I can still forbid you to see him, Tess. And I do." He father said angrily, pointing at her. Tess felt like she was being stabbed with every one of her father's quick points. She felt even worse when he brought up her former job. She had disappointed her family and it made her sick.

Tess fell back on her FBI training of staying calm under pressure. She was not going to let them see how their beliefs affected her.

"I am safe and I am happy with Felonious." Tess said resolutely.

"That's probably what all of Drew Peterson's wives thought!" Colin exclaimed.

"Who would copulate with that man?" Lizzie asked.

"I WOULD!" Tess exclaimed, defensively, without thinking.

The most awkward of silences fell over the table. Thankfully her father broke it, "What does he want anyway?" He was referring to why Felonious was criminal.

"Power." Lizzie answered.

Tess held her elbows on the table and held head between her thumbs and index fingers, the rest splayed out flat. "You know how his rise to power will turn out, _if _he ever gets around to it?" she asked irately. "He'll claim power and after a few weeks, he'll get bored and sell it off to the highest bidder. In truth, he's far too preoccupied with his daughters to pose much of a threat."

"Daughters? Ho, ho someone did copulate with him. Looks like you're getting someone's sloppy seconds." Colin jabbed, leaning back in his chair with a smug look on his face.

"He adopted them this past summer." Tess corrected. "You know what disgusts me the most about your disapproval? It's not that you don't trust me or are doing this to me; it's that you're doing this to the man that saved your daughter's life. Twice. Without a single thought for his own life."

Another stunned and contemplative fell over the table. "I want to meet him." Her father said.

"I do too." Colin said.

"I want to make sure he treats you right. Then I'll decide if you're really safe with him or not." Her father added.

Tess sighed, "OK. I'll bring him to the next dinner."

She did just that. Tess had never seen Felonious so nervous before. For a while the dinner was mostly silent and awkward and very hostile towards Felonious (who thankfully took it in stride). The tension broke when Tess suddenly felt lightheaded due to a touch of anemia. Her family saw how concerned Felonious was for her and how quickly he took care of her. After Tess was brought back from anemia-land, the family took no time in candidly asking Felonious questions to discern if he was genuine. With dinner concluded, they deemed Felonious as acceptable for Tess, but her father made it clear that he was always watching.

Before Tess and Felonious left, he shook hand with her brother and father.

Tears in his eyes, he shook Felonious' hand. "Take care of her."

"It's my every intention. She'll be treated like a queen." Felonious answered.

With that hurdle out of their way, Tess and Felonious were able to grow as a real couple. Not every one of their conversations was dominated by the outcome of the trial. They were able to learn about each other.

"I was born in Yekaterinburg, Russia. My father moved my mother and me to Bucharest, Romania when I was Agnes age. Two years later we moved to Budapest, Hungary. My father's expertise was theft. Or it would have been if he didn't nearly get caught after each one, which is why we moved a lot. After he died, my mother and I moved here. When I turned 18, I moved back to Russia and joined the military. I was part of the Vympel. I was honorably discharged when I was thirty. I came back to America shortly after." Felonious explained.

"Are all of your family criminals?" Tess asked.

"For the most part, yes. We all have niches, my father liked to steal. My grandmother Madeline could forge anything she wanted. William was a master of disguise and would impersonate anyone he wanted to get information."

"What happened to Edith's parents?"

"Edith was born out of wedlock to an absent father and cocaine-addled mother. She gave up her rights soon after Edith was born."

"Was she clean when she was pregnant with Edith?" Tess asked worriedly.

"I hope so, but I don't know. I see her birth mother every day as I drive them to dance class. On the same street, same clothes, ravaged by time, addiction and a life hard lived."

"Edith doesn't recognize her, right?"

"No."

The topic cast an ill mood over the couple, but Felonious changed it, "Tess Olivia Sutterfield, what is your story?" He asked, grinning, threading her fingers through his.

"Not as interesting," She admitted, smiling. "I was born in the city and studied Criminology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My job with the FBI has taken me all over the country. You'd think that job would only show the darkest side of humanity, but it doesn't. I've seen so many families, some who haven't talked in years, come back together and face a tragedy and get through it. Together. It was awe inspiring. I liked knowing I was helping and making a difference."

Several days after the dinner, Tess was offered a job on the state level. It was essentially her same job, but instead of the entire country being in her jurisdiction, it was only the state. Tess still had the same career responsibilities and same types of cases. She liked it, but it wasn't her old job. It paid less, but it was also less stress and travel. Tess got lucky with Felonious' case, since he lived in the same city as her office, otherwise she and Michael Fisher would have had to travel to him.

The rest of the year passed by quietly for everyone, but New Year's would never be the same for Tess. Felonious' neighborhood had organized a block party to celebrate. Margo and Edith had made it to midnight, but Agnes didn't make it past ten and was put to bed with Marlena downstairs as Tess, Felonious and the older girls enjoyed the festivities outside. Felonious even wrapped the rest of his scarf around Tess' neck to keep her warm from the cold. He didn't care how ridiculous he may have looked sharing a scarf with her, he just wanted Tess to stay as close to his side as possible, with his arm around her waist.

Felonious drew Tess closer as the countdown approached one, both intending on kissing the other at midnight. Tess could feel Felonious' heart pounding against his chest as she counted with his neighbors and she had no idea why.

"ONE! HAPPY NEW YEARS!" Everyone shouted and was quickly silenced in Tess' mind. In that moment, it was just her and Felonious and their loving kiss.

They pulled away but stayed close, his arm around her waist and hand on her cheek, "I love you Tess."

Tess nearly swooned. It was simply…perfect. "I love you too, Felonious." she replied, smiling probably the biggest and most genuine smile of her life and moved closer into his embrace.

They just stood there for several moments, holding each other, happy to have finally found someone they loved so deeply, as everyone partied around them. They would have stayed like that forever but Edith ran by with a sparkler and both learned very quickly that fire (or sparks) and Edith did not mix.

Later that night, Felonious saw the older girls to bed as Tess saw Marlena off.

"What time is it, dear?" Marlena asked.

Looking at her phone, Tess replied, "1:45."

"Ah! The night, she is young!" Marlena said mischievously, giving Tess the distinct impression the elder woman had no intentions of going home any time soon. Tess grinned and shook her head as Marlena walked to her car and obnoxiously loud modern music poured from its speakers as she drove off. Age was merely a number to Marlena Gru.

Tess walked upstairs to girls' bedroom, intending to wish them good night as well. She stepped into the room but was unnoticed by the room's occupants.

Felonious sat on the floor, facing the girls in their beds. Agnes was awake again. Felonious was reading them a story. It was a short story, no more than a few sentences, but it was nonetheless heartwarming as the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"One big unicorn, strong and free, thought he was happy as he can be. Then three little kittens came around and turned his whole life upside down." Felonious read. He must have had the story memorized because his eyes never left the eyes of his daughters.

"They made him laugh," Felonious inserted a laugh.

"they made him cry." He made a small, weeping sound.

"He should have never said goodbye," Tess feel how heavy that mere sentence was just by the slight pause and tone of his voice.

"and now he knows, he could never part with the three little kittens that changed his heart."

Tess felt tears of joy flood her eyes. She had never seen so beautiful or touching in her life. Felonious Gru truly lived for his daughters. Even the way they were positioned said it. Felonious, on the floor, looking small compared to the girls high up in their beds. He was insignificant compared to them.

Tess stepped out of the room as Felonious kissed them all goodnight. He emerged from their room, closing the door behind him. Tess smiled as she took the book from his hand and discovered it was handmade and written by Felonious himself. Not just any book could hold so much meaning.

"You're a perfect, father, Felonious Gru." She said, looking him in the eyes.

"Only because they are the perfect daughters." He said, smiling. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

It started out as them cuddling on the couch, watching some nameless tv movie, but Felonious noticed her hand on his thigh and the entire mood changed. Soon, it progressed to the point they resembled a pair of horny teenagers, making out on the couch and eagerly groping the other. Felonious, without warning, lifted Tess into his arms, bridal style and carried her upstairs to his bedroom. He wasn't about to make love to Tess on the couch as though she was a one night stand. No, she deserved his bed and to be properly worshiped. Tess wasn't virgin and neither was Felonious, but sex never felt as pleasurable or as right as it with them together.

That night, they slept satisfied and happy in each other's arms. For that little while, everything was perfect in their world.

Author's note: I don't know if I should be proud of myself or worried that I knew the words of _One Big Unicorn _up until the 'He should have never said goodbye' part. But yeah they had sex folks. I had any faith in my abilities, this chapter would have been smut, but hey, I'm as romantic as Katniss Everdeen, so, sorry I'm not sorry haha. I for one, think this fandom needs more smut!


	11. Chapter 11

Tess was trapped. It was dark. She could feel the scratchy and rough feeling of rope binding her ankles and wrists. She tried to scream as she felt a knife slide across her throat, but her vocal cords were already sliced. She felt the warm, sticky sensation of her own blood ooze down her chest as everything suddenly ended.

Tess shot up instantly. It was dark and she didn't immediately recognize where she was. The cold night air on her bare breasts brought her back to reality.

"Tess?! What's the matter?!" Felonious asked sitting up, instantly awake.

She dissolved into tears as everything flooded back to her. It was New Years and Felonious had told her he loved her for the first time. They had made love and she was with him. Her nightmare was a flashback of what Andrew Hill could have done to her and her family. It was so long ago in reality, but to her, it was just yesterday. It will always be just yesterday.

Felonious pulled her into his arms and she cried into his bare chest, clinging to him for dear life. He knew a nightmare when he saw one, but he was willing to bet it wasn't the bogeyman harassing his love. No, it was an entirely human experience that caused this. If he ever ran into Andrew Hill, the man would meet a very gruesome end for what he had done to Tess.

"Was it him?" He asked drawing her face up to look into her eyes with his fingers under her chin, his other arm still wrapped around her.

She nodded, trembling, tears ever present in her eyes.

"I feel so silly Felonious, I'm sorry. I don't know why it bothers me still. He's in prison and I can protect myself if he ever gets out." She shook her head and wiped her eyes with her fingers.

Felonious gently tucked a blonde lock of her hair behind her ear and swept away her bangs from her eyes. "I will never let anything happen to you, Tess."

She suddenly became very aware of how naked they both were but didn't try to cover up. Instead, it emboldened her. She moved to straddle his hips, saying, "Why don't you help me forget about this nightmare?" She whispered seductively in his ear.

It was safe to say that sleep was the last thing on their minds.

A few more months passed by quietly. No attacks, no FBI intruding on their bliss and no problems. They had their first real fight the following spring. They screamed at each other (away from the girls' sight and hearing) and Tess left in anger. Looking back, it while it was loud and angry, it was the most civil fight she had ever had with a lover. It was fair, no name calling and neither party had brought up the prospect of a break up. The relationship was permanent to them, there was no chance of leaving, but the roses at her desk the next morning was a nice touch.

That summer, Felonious asked Tess to move in. She already practically lived there, so the transition was expected to be easy. A few minions were brought along to help load and unload her things. Every one of the minions was in disguises, but one in particular caught Tess' attention.

Tess saw the minion was dressed…funny. Grabbing Felonious by the sleeve of his jacket, she asked in hushed tones, "Why is that minion in a wig and dress?"

Felonious sighed and shook his head, "I can't tell you. I have no clue. He's dressed like that since I brought the girls home!"

Tess giggled, "Well if it makes him happy…"

After a long, hot day of loading and loading boxes, it was nice to crawl into a warm bed with the man she loved and fall asleep and wake up in his arms.

They made love for the countless time that night; leaving Felonious thankful that he had the foresight years ago to put the girls in a room that was separated from his own by an entire floor and opposite end of the house.

Margo soon started to have problems. Edith and Agnes easily took to Tess as their mother figure, even calling her mom. Tess fell easily into the role of being a mother. All her time caring for Percy must have helped. However, Margo would be icy towards Tess and wouldn't listen if Tess asked her to do something. It exploded when Felonious wanted to have Tess listed as all three of girl's emergency contact at school along with himself. Margo threw a fit at the school during enrollment.

"She's not my mom!" Margo yelled, storming off. All the administration, parents and other students stared at Felonious and Tess. She was thankful Marlena took the younger girls for the day. She didn't want this to rub off on them.

Tess heard Felonious swear in Russian, as his ears turned red. He was angry with his eldest and embarrassed by her public tantrum. "She probably wouldn't like it, but can you check on her? I'm needed here."

Tess nodded and followed the path Margo forged. She found the girl in the playground on the swing set, moping. Tess saw a teacher was watching the other kids play and decided it was best to give Margo her space.

"She's fine. She's on the playground and a teacher is watching. Just let her calm down." Tess said, rubbing his forearm.

"I'm sorry, Tess. I don't know why she's doing this. It's not like her." Felonious said in exasperation.

"No, it's ok. It's normal. She's testing me."

"How do you know?" He asked, curiously with an upraised eyebrow.

"I minored in psychology. She's trying to push me away intentionally because she probably feels she'd rather do it to herself than have me forced from her when she's attached. I bet she gave you a hard time before she accepted you as her father, too."

Felonious grinned and remembered all the trouble she caused him those first few weeks, all the backtalk and catty remarks. It took him saving the lives of her and her sisters to accept him as her father.

"And it stopped once you saved her life, didn't it?"

"So, you have to save her life now?"

"No, I just need to stay present in her life. Eventually she'll realize, no matter how horrible she acts, I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not. I practically raised Percy during his terrible two's, I can handle whatever she'll throw at us now and later."

"Isn't she too old for temper tantrums, though?" Felonious asked.

Tess laughed at his naïve question, "Oh Felonious, she'll eat you alive when she goes through puberty."

After a few minutes, Tess went outside. "Can I sit down?" She asked Margo. The girl just shrugged and turned over the dirt with the toe of her shoe, her hands on the swing's chains.

Tess sat down on the swing next to her. Most of the playground had cleared out. 'Good,' Tess thought. It would give them some privacy.

"Do you want to talk about it? Just let it all out, don't worry about hurting my feelings. It's all about you right now."

"My real parents died in a car crash. Sometimes, I wonder if they're really dead." Margo said quietly, looking down, fumbling with her hands.

Tess' heart broke in that instant. How much sadness and hurt was this girl really carrying?

Margo looked up and met Tess' eyes, "I feel like if I called you mom, it really makes them dead. I really wonder if they are. I mean, I lived and I was only a little girl. Couldn't an adult live, too?"

"Margo, I never told you this, but I was the one who lead that case to find to find your parents. I personally saw the wreckage. You were lucky to survive yourself. Barely hurt, nonetheless. Margo, your parents would want you to be happy and to move on. It makes them sad to see you stuck like this. If moving on means that you don't call me mom, it's ok. I understand. Do what makes you happy. I'm sure your dad has had this conversation with you before, and we'll probably have it with Edith and Agnes, but we're not trying to replace your birth parents."

Margo was silent for a moment. "Doesn't the FBI just work with bigger cases? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I had to work my way up to there. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to bring up any bad memories for you."

"I think I'd like to you to be my mom too." Margo said, a small smile gracing her face. "I have four parents, really. Two who created me and two who chose me."

Tess smiled, "That's a good way to see it."

Eventually all the girls started calling her mom.

More time passed and things were peaceful. Every few weekends Percy would stay the night and Tess had a sneaking suspicion Felonious was grooming Percy to be his heir to his criminal legacy. Tess laughed at the idea. Percy was too softhearted for that. Deep down, so was Felonious; _very_ deep down. Tess started bringing both Felonious and the girls to her family's Sunday dinner. Her mother was ecstatic to have granddaughters to spoil. Her father was just happy that Edith knew how to play football and he finally had someone else to teach it to after Colin! He tried with Percy, but that didn't go too well.

The girls started school that fall and they fell into a nice schedule. Felonious would wake up a few minutes before Tess to take a shower (living with four women, hot water was a commodity) and get dressed. He'd wake her up with a kiss and go downstairs to start breakfast as she got ready for the day. After that, Tess would wake the girls up. She and Margo really bonded every morning when she helped Margo pick out what she would wear for the day.

After breakfast, Tess would whisk the girls off to school (not without a goodbye kiss from Felonious). With the house finally quiet, he'd go down to the lab until it was time to pick the girls up from school. Tess made it home from promptly at 5:45 every night. They'd have dinner and enjoy having each other. On Mondays and Fridays, the girls had dance class and that changed the schedule a bit. Tess and Felonious couldn't believe how lucky they were to have such a happy life and someone they loved so deeply.

Felonious knew it was time to make it official. He knew it months ago. So, after school one day, he took the girls ring shopping, he needed their opinions on what Tess would like for an engagement ring. They decided on a princess cut diamond with smaller diamonds inlaid in two other conjoining bands. She'd only get those two if she said yes! They would make up her wedding ring along with her engagement ring in the middle.

He decided he'd ask her on Christmas. When that morning finally came, he felt like he was going to jump out of his own skin in anticipation. Finally, it was time.

"The girls and I wanted to give you this," Felonious said, handing her a sloppily wrapped present, shaped like a square. Either Edith or Agnes could have wrapped it. Tess smiled and opened the gift. It was a popular book from a popular series that just about everyone had read. The looks on Felonious' and the girl's faces told her to examine it further.

She opened the cover and turned a few pages. On the first page of the story, the middle part of the pages were cut out in the shape of a long ways rectangle, revealing a chapter named, _The Unbreakable Vow_. On that page, hanging by a white ribbon was a ring.

Tess' heart began to race and only one answer, one word, came to her mind.

Felonious was on one knee before her, Margo had her fingers crossed while Agnes had her own index and middle fingers crossed, as well as her ring and pinky fingers, her arms and legs, probably her toes if Tess could see through her shoes. Edith was too preoccupied trying to set up her new gaming console to care too much about what Tess had to say.

"It was the girl's idea," Felonious said, "how to ask you, I mean," He clarified, "You probably wouldn't like the way I would have asked." Felonious said as he slipped the ring on Tess' finger. "Will you marry me?"

Tess felt tears of joy slipping from her eyes. She looked around the room and saw the people and beings that now fell into one category; her family. She saw her beautiful daughters, the silly little minions and ever protective Kyle. On the floor, awaiting her answer as though his life depended on it was her husband. She couldn't have said no.

"Yes, Felonious! Yes!" She answered, cupping his face in her hands and drawing him to a kiss.

Had her world hadn't been silenced by the kiss; she would have heard her daughters cheer and one of the minions started to bawl.

"Oh, but Margo was reading this book," Tess said, worriedly, looking at the now unreadable book.

"No need to worry. We bought this book especially." Felonious answered, clasping both her hands in his own.

That was last good night they would have. After the girls had gone to bed that night, Felonious and Tess had just gotten upstairs when something all too familiar happened. The sounds of explosions filled the air. The house rattled, knocking the couple off their feet and to the hard floor.

Felonious clambered to his feet and ran to the window. Tess could already see flames from where she had fallen.

"There are bombs hitting the house. You are going to have to evacuate with the girls to the safe house." Felonious said, hurriedly, picking Tess up and putting his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

The house was shaking, and drywall was falling all around them as the lights flickered. All his protective measures from last time failed to work this time.

"What?! What about you!?" She exclaimed.

"I need to stay here, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

Tess was about to cry, but she stayed strong. She knew that this could very well be the last time she ever saw him. She grabbed him and kissed him.

"I love you Felonious. Promise me you will be safe."

He had her cheek cupped in his hand and other on her shoulder, as he looked into her eyes and promised, but both knew he truly couldn't promise his safety. "I promise Tess and I love you too. Go get the girls and get down to the lab. I'll meet you there."

She nodded and hurried down the hall. The girls were awake and grabbing their precious items. Everyone already had a bag packed with clothes and other necessities in case they needed to leave quickly. Tess had her bag and purse slung over her shoulder.

"Come on girls! We're evacuating to the safe house!"

The girls ran out of their crumbling room with Kyle and hurried down the hall and the barely standing staircase, to the lab.

The lab wasn't fairing any better than the house. There was no power and one wall had caved in, which led Tess to believe that whoever was attacking them had ground penetrating bombs.

Tess pulled a flashlight out of her bag and called for Felonious. He came running up in the darkness and ushered them to the hangar where his airship was held. Hurriedly, they strapped in the girls as four minions charged with their safety readied the ship for launch.

"I love you, daughters. I will be safe and we will be together again shortly. I promise." Felonious said, kissing each one on the forehead.

He grabbed Tess and kissed her soundly. "I love you. Keep them safe." Without another word, he jumped out of the ship and slid the door shut behind him, his eyes locked on Tess as he did so. The sound of him closing the door would ring in Tess' mind for years afterwards.

It was eerily quiet on the flight to Russia. No one spoke. No one moved. Not even the minions made any noises; no childlike fighting or laughter. They just made sure the ship was going where it needed to go. The silence was in stark contrast to the sounds of the attack; the girls crying, minions and Dr. Nefario yelling back and forth, the sounds of the explosions and the house and lab breaking around them.

Tess checked her cell phone every five seconds to see if there was any word from Felonious. There was nothing. Not long after they left for the safe house her mother called her.

"Tess! Are you alright?!" She exclaimed worriedly into the phone.

The girls looked expectantly at Tess, hoping it was their father on the other line. She solemnly shook her head and their expressions of hope vanished.

"Yeah mom, I'm ok."

"What about Felonious and the girls?"

"Felonious had to stay behind. The girls are ok, they're with me. We're en route to one of his safe houses. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you where. My phone could be tapped. Wait, how do you know what's going on?"

"It's all over the news, honey! I can hear the explosions and see the fire and smoke from here!"

"Is anyone trying to stop it?" Tess asked hopefully, but knowing all too well that Felonious rarely accepted help.

"I don't think so sweetie. The President doesn't know what to do, other than send in people to rescue his neighbors. I think everyone has the mentality that he brought this on himself and this is the way to get rid of him."

'Get rid of him as in kill him.' Tess thought. "I'm sorry mom, but I can't hear much more of this. I'll call you when we're safe."

Tess and her mother said their goodbyes, which were all too meaningful. It could be their last. The airship was plunged into silence once more. Then Margo spoke up.

"What happens to us if he dies?" She asked quietly.

Tess unstrapped herself and sat down on her knees in from of them, grabbing each of their hands and holding them in her own. "Nothing." She said earnestly. "You will still have me. You will not go back to Miss Hattie's. You'll still live in the same house, with me. You'll still go to school. Nothing will change and we will carry on without him. But I'll tell you a secret about your father," The girls leaned forward eagerly, "your father is tough. He won't go down without a fight. It'll take more than that for him to die. He's too stubborn."

The girls laughed a bit and Tess saw them relax a bit, but barely.

They arrived on would have been that next morning. The airship was capable of going great distances in a short amount of time. Tess stood up and went to the cockpit and saw they were in the middle of nowhere. Out of the ground, an earth covered hatch opened and the minions maneuvered the airship inside. Exiting the ship, they were standing in a well-lit, midsized hangar, big enough for a few more airships. From a door on the wall, people walked through, three in all, two men and one woman. All three looked a bit younger than Felonious and older than Tess.

"My name is Abram, I am Felonious' cousin, and this is my brother Lev and sister Natalya. Felonious told us you were coming and didn't want you to be alone. We are also here to protect you." The man said, in an accent thicker than Felonious'. It was clearer, however than his, Tess doubted Abram moved around as much as Felonious did, thus creating his amalgamation of an accent.

Tess nodded, "Thank you."

Abram turned to Lev spoke to him in Russian. Lev nodded and walked off. He went to Natalya and repeated the process.

"I told Lev to do another security sweep, to ensure your safety and Natalya to show you to your rooms.

If you need anything at all, one of us will be on guard out her, always. There is no need to worry for your safety. We are trained protectors."

"Ok," Tess replied and Abram turned his attention to minions.

Natalya silently led them through the door Tess had seen them emerge from. On the other side were rooms set up like the apartment in the lab. However, this time, Tess did not feel like cooking to busy her mind.

Natalya said nothing as she left Tess and the girls alone.

Tess collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, the girls and Kyle all cuddled around her, but no one tried to sleep. After an unknown amount of time, Tess suddenly heard her phone ring. The kind of ring told her it was only a text. She dived for her phone and sighed in unimaginable relief seeing it was Felonious. He was alive. The text simply read,

'I know who is trying to kill me.'


	12. Chapter 12

Tess and the girls barely moved until that evening. Their minds swirled with possibilities; possibilities of the future and what was currently happening at home. Was Felonious still alive? Was he hurt? How would they carry on without him? Tess' mind thought about what she would have to do if Felonious was dead. She'd instantly and unwavering take charge of the girls. They'd have to stay at her parents or Marlena's house until she could find a new home for all of them. Then her mind came to the minions. All eight to nine thousands of them, she had no idea what she'd do with them. She would feel guilty abandoning them. Also, should she take the girls back to remains of their house to see if there was anything to salvage or would it be best to just move on? Tess knew one thing for sure; she could never love another man after Felonious.

All these thoughts weighed on them so heavily, that their bodies' temporarily gave out under the strain. Suddenly, the sounds of engines from the hangar spurred them to action. The girls shot off the couch with Kyle and the minions with Tess close behind, hoping to see Felonious.

She and the girls ran out the door to see a similar airship landing. Tess started to shake and her heart pound at the anticipation of seeing him. What state would he be in? Injured? Unharmed? How badly would he be hurt if he was?

Tess' heart dropped when she saw someone other than Felonious disembark. Marlena hurried down the airship's ramp and swept the girls up in her arms in relief. Tess' parents, Colin, Lizzy and Percy followed. Tess scolded herself for momentarily being disappointed that it was Marlena and her family and not Felonious who arrived. She was truly relieved to see them safe. However, to have Felonious' safety dangled in front of her and quickly ripped away was like free falling and hitting concrete face first.

Tess' parents wrapped her in a bone shattering hug of relief, followed by one from her brother that lasted longer than usual.

"I was so worried, Tess." Her mother quaked.

"We don't know what we'd do without you," Her father muttered, tears in his eyes. She had never seen her father cry before.

"Did you see him? Was he hurt?" Margo asked worriedly.

"No, I didn't see him. He sent the airship to us shortly after everything happened with only instructions to get in from the minion from him. I haven't heard from him." Marlena said gravely, shaking her head.

"I heard from him. He says he knows who's doing it. Who was the last person Felonious bested?" Tess asked.

"Some kid named Vector. He kidnapped the girls." Marlena replied as she shrugged. "Why?"

"It's him attacking Felonious, then" Tess thought aloud.

Tess knew how criminals worked. If one lost to another, they would come back to assert their power. This Vector person was the last person Felonious had beaten. It couldn't be anyone else due to Felonious' lack of recent criminal activity.

"I have to go back." Tess said, resolutely "I may be able to bring him to a cease fire."

Tess wasn't trained in negotiations with a criminal to bring a cease fire, but she had witness countless numbers of them. The only difference was that she didn't have her bullet proof vest, and wasn't hiding behind squad car or in an FBI mobile command center. And that she would be the one trying to get the attacks to stop, rather than a professional.

"What are you talking about? You can't! You'll be killed! You have nothing to offer to his fight and will only get in Felonious' way!" Lev exclaimed.

"I know how to protect myself; I was trained by the FBI." Tess asserted.

"So you can shoot a gun! Big deal! Whoever is attacking Felonious can't be stopped with a gun!" Marlena insisted.

"You're committing suicide." Natalya said coldly as a chorus of 'no's' and 'you're crazy' erupted from her family.

"Well, I'll die defending my family." Tess said as she walked onto the ramp of the airship that brought Marlena and her family. "I'm sorry, but I really think I can stop this and I can't justify just sitting here hoping for the best, when I could possibly stop the attacks. I love you all."

With that, Tess turned and boarded the airship with reluctant minions who were afraid of defying Felonious' orders of protecting her.

Tess knew she was heading to her death, but she couldn't leave the man she loved to fight alone. She knew she was being irresponsible and selfish. Her death, if Felonious had in fact perished before her, would leave the girls without a mother. They would either be placed with Marlena or her parents when they need a stable home the most. If she got there in time and Felonious was still alive and she would be able to successfully negotiate a cease fire, she could save everyone involved. That was worth the risk to her.

The flight back wasn't much different from the flight to. It was still oppressively quiet. Her mind buzzed with ideas of what she would say; constantly replaying every negotiation she had seen, remembering every minute detail. She thought of every possible outcome and scenario so she could to prepare herself as much as possible. Surprisingly, the airship had a Wi-Fi signal and she used it to look up any information on Vector on her phone. Any information on him could be valuable in a negotiation. Somewhere over western coast of Sweden, Tess' phone rang. Tess quickly grabbed it, not even looking at the number. It had to be Felonious.

"Hello?" She answered, hopefully.

"Tess, it's me, Michael. Michael Fisher. I have information that can save Felonious Gru. Look, don't ask me how I have this information but I feel terrible for I have done. I should have trusted to you about him."

"Yeah. Yeah you should have." Tess said testily, all her emotions and memories from that past situation coming back to the front of her mind.

"I know." Michael said, sadness dripping from his voice. "Like I said, I have information. I want to help."

"Great. You can start now." Tess replied tersely. "Where can we meet for you give me this information? My phone could be tapped."

"Meet me on old access road 23." Fisher replied.

"Got it. I'll be there in a few hours."

"Ok. Tess, please be careful." Michael pleaded.

"I think that's a bit redundant given our current situation." Tess said as they ended the call.

Tess had to think about where that location was. It was in the middle of nowhere, with literally nothing for miles. The road and area was virtually forgotten by the city when a more direct route to and from the city was built. That location was a major benefit to them, it lessened the possibility of Vector finding out the information Fisher had.

When Tess arrived at the location, it was dark. A cold sweat broke out when she saw angry red flames in the distance. She knew was looking at the fires that engulfed her home. She could even smell the smoke from where she was standing, some miles away. In the distance, she could hear sirens and military and police aircraft flying overhead.

Shortly after, a car a pulled out and Fisher emerged. He sighed in relief and wrapped Tess in a hug. Tess was a bit taken aback by this action. Even after years of working together, they weren't particularly close. They maintained a very professional and formal relationship. However, this was a very stressful situation and she could see how he'd worry and act in such a way.

"I was beginning to worry something awful happened." Fisher said worriedly.

Tess ran a hand through her disheveled hair, trying to look somewhat presentable. "We hit some turbulence over the Atlantic."

She saw Fisher's eyes lock onto something on her hand, but thought nothing of it. "What information do you have?"

Fisher was silent for a moment, "I lied. I don't have any information. I heard that you were in a relationship with him and I've come to talk some sense into you. He's a dangerous man, Tess. He can hurt you and those girls."

Tess didn't know where to begin, the fact he was intruding on her personal life or the fact that he still believed Felonious was dangerous to her and the girls. She was pissed and she was exhausted, she really didn't want to deal with this.

"Felonious genuinely accepts those girls as his daughters and he their father! Those girls couldn't be safer even if they were hidden in the Obama's fallout bunker!" She exclaimed, waving her hands wildly.

Fisher caught her left wrist tightly in his hand. Tight enough to leave finger shaped bruises. She hoped that he left bruises, because the minute Felonious saw them, Fisher would have to pray that that was all Felonious left behind on him. Then she remembered her engagement ring. Her heart stopped.

Michael roughly pulled her hand closer to look at the diamond ring. The look on Fisher's face was a mixture of disbelief, anger and disgust. "How long has he been fucking you?"

"Goodbye, Michael." She said evenly, pulling her hand away. She looked her wrist, already starting to bruise. She raised her hand to where the bruises were in Fisher's plain view. "I'd lock your doors tonight and get out the country tomorrow. Not that locks can stop him or he can't find you wherever you go. Better make sure your will is up to date." She said darkly and turned to walk off.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and she felt something all too familiar against her head; the cold muzzle of a gun. She gasped.

"I can't believe you fell for this." The voice of Fisher said from behind her. "I don't care about you or those girls. I just had to lure you out of his hiding spot to bring him about."

In that moment, everything made sense. It was him all along. Felonious knew Fisher would come after him. His father was the only man Felonious ever purposefully killed. Felonious was planning for his attack all along! The readings spiked when they met and Felonious had seen that Tess was working with Fisher. He recognized him as the son of the man he had killed. After Fisher disappeared, the readings decreased with Felonious thinking that he was dead and that he and his family were safe. Fisher was trying to avenge his father's death.

"You're his weakness you know…" Fisher sneered in disgust. "He'd never let you get hurt. Now, I know he's still alive after the barrage of bombs I sent earlier. Let's call him and have a little chat, shall we?" Fisher said, pulling out his phone.

"I'm already here." Felonious said ominously.

Fisher quickly turned them around and faced him. Felonious looked worse for the wear, dusted with soot and his sweater was torn in places, other than that, he was fine. He had has plasma gun already pointed at Fisher. He was a good enough shot to hit him without hitting Tess.

"Felonious!" Tess exclaimed.

"Let her go."

"Or what? You'll kill me like you did my father?" Fisher asked, angrily.

"No, I'm going to kill you either way." Felonious said flatly.

Hearing that, Fisher jerked the gun away from Tess' head and pointed it at Felonious. Felonious didn't hesitate in firing his gun, disintegrating the one Fisher held.

Fisher growled and pushed Tess to the side and she fell to the ground, landing on her side, knocking the wind out of her. She saw Fisher charge at Felonious and she quickly got to her feet, running to her fiancé's aid.

She ran and punched Fisher in the back of the head, hard enough for her hand to hurt and slow Fisher down. Tess had her gun on her, but would only use it if she had too.

Fisher crumpled to the ground but didn't stay down long. He lunged at Felonious, his fist balled, but Felonious quickly moved and dropped the plasma gun and grabbed Fisher by the neck, poised to snap it with his bare hands.

"You will never come near my family again." Felonious seethed.

"I can say the same for you." Fisher replied. He punched Felonious, who recoiled temporarily.

Seeing her opportunity, Tess grabbed Fisher and bound his wrists in her hands, putting the muzzle of her gun to his head, Felonious pointing his Beretta at Fisher's heart and knife ready in his other hand, his last resort weapons. "You lost." She said.

"THAT MAN KILLED MY FATHER!" Fisher exclaimed as that made everything better.

"You're father attacked me! Your father was crooked, not half the man you and this damn city thinks him to be! He lost his mind trying to bring me in and resorted to the lowest measures to do so!" Felonious yelled.

Suddenly, red and blue lights and sirens pervaded the moonlit darkness and silence. Local police and SWAT teams along with FBI flooded from the police vehicles and surrounded them.

"Hold your fire!" Tess heard the voice of Chief Daniels holler.

The weapons pointed at them lowered and Daniels parted the crowd, walking up to Tess and Felonious.

"Well, don't we have a little sordid story don't we? The man who was one of the best criminologists the Federal Bureau of Investigations has ever seen cracks under pressure to bring the great Felonious Gru to justice and turns to evil to bring him to justice. The suspect kills him in self-defense and the suspect's son believes his father was anything but. So he seeks to avenge his father as one of his superior's falls for the suspect. It's almost too good to be true. Agent Sutterfield." Daniels addressed, officially.

"Yes sir?" Tess asked a twinge of confusion in her voice as to why he was using her former title.

"Is Felonious Gru a threat?" He asked.

"Yes." Tess stated, evenly.

"Will he re-offend?"

"Yes. Certainly."

"Is he a threat to Freedom and Democracy?"

"I am confident that he is."

"Are you and those little girls safe with him?" The air of formality was dropped and seriousness laced Daniel's voice.

Tess smiled, "Without a doubt." She squeezed Felonious' hand affectionately.

"Well that's all I need. No further questions. Felonious Gru, for your cooperation in bringing Michael Fisher the terrorist his for use of bombs, you are no longer under FBI surveillance. The United States government apologizes for intruding." Daniels said casually.

"What cooperation?" Tess asked.

"I tapped Fisher's cell phone and I heard your conversation with him. I called Daniels and told him what was happening." Felonious explained.

"But you could have been arrested!"

"It was a chance I was willing to take for your safety."

"So he's free?" Tess asked Daniels.

"Uh huh." Daniels replied, walking back to his squad car, Tess and Felonious followed. "I have every confidence that you will keep him below our radar. Also, I know that you will not come back to the force if we're investigating your," Daniels paused, thinking, "whatever he is to you. We're barely productive without you! I have the Vice President breathing down my neck!" Daniels complained.

"So I'm getting my job back?" Tess exclaimed, happily.

"Yep. Just don't piss off the CIA. They're terrifying and will _not_ leave you alone. Kinda like an ex –wife." Daniels said to Felonious as he got into the squad car and drove off.

"It's all over…It's all over!" Tess exclaimed throwing her arms around Felonious' neck.

He laughed heartily as he pulled away and a put cupped Tess' face in his hands, looking her in the eyes, "No it's not. Everything is just beginning! We can finally _live _and not have to worry about the next obstacle!" He said happily.

"Of course Felonious! If you think you can put up with me for 70 plus years!" She teased.

"I think I can," He grinned as he kissed her with all the love he had for her.

That is how a criminal and a criminologist fell in love.

Author's Final Note: I want to thank you all for reading this story. I am truly appreciative. I do plan to continue on with these characters. I'm already writing a vignette of Tess' and Felonious' wedding day, which will be included in my story _The Despicable Gru Family, _along with a few other vignettes that include her or some that don't. I'm playing around with the idea of writing about Fisher's father and how he tried to bring Gru to justice, his fall from grace and just how that battle took place. I don't know if that'll be a full length story or just a vignette. Would you like to hear that story?


End file.
